Missing in Action
by James Stapleton
Summary: Finished! A desperate plea from a friend brings Nancy and her friends, along with Frank and Joe, to New York to solve their first mystery together! This is the first story in the new series in which the detectives are out to solve impossible crimes.
1. Return to the Big Apple

_**1**_

Return to the Big Apple 

Nancy Drew stepped out of her blue Mustang convertible as she arrived at her friend Bess Marvin's house.

The house was very much like Nancy's, but the garden was a little bigger. There was a fountain in the middle that made the whole garden symmetrical.

Ringing the doorbell, Nancy waited until her best friend came rushing to the door. Opening it with great energy, the eighteen-year-old blonde girl smiled as she saw the red-haired detective.

"I was waiting for you, Nancy!" Bess shouted, happy to see her friend.

"Well, it seems like an eternity since the last time we were on a case, isn't it?" Nancy commented, grinning as she sat down onto the sofa in the living room.

Everyone in River Heights had heard of Nancy Drew, the illustrious girl detective who solved a complex on her own ever since she was sixteen. Now that she is eighteen, Nancy has solved over fifty mysteries.

Nancy didn't have to do anything for a mystery to turn up; there seemed to be one around every corner, almost literally. The girl detective usually came upon a mystery when she went on vacation or even when she was shopping in a mall! Her father, Carson Drew, who was an attorney, sometimes gave her cases to investigate. To Nancy, solving mystery was as often and chore-like as anyone would consider washing dishes could be. She usually didn't get cases that had murders or gruesome crimes, as you might read in Sherlock Holmes or Hercules Poirot mysteries. But when there was a crime, even murders and mayhems, Nancy would rush to the scene of the crime.

Being an amateur detective, Nancy's mysteries didn't start in her detective agency but mostly in a living room as quiet and peaceful as this one.

"So, what did you call me about?" Nancy asked Bess.

Bess's expression was grim. "You remember Bailey Higgins, don't you?" she asked.

Nancy nodded. "Sure do. She was in our junior high. Is she in trouble?"

"I don't know. She just called yesterday, saying that she was accused of a theft. She didn't quite say much on the phone; she was too worried to talk much. She asked me if I knew of any detective around here who could prove her innocence. I immediately thought of you."

Nancy was thinking. Bailey has been a quiet girl during the few years Nancy has known her. She knew that Bailey wouldn't steal a thing. But why, then, is she accused of a theft?

"I think we should go there right away," Nancy said. "Did you tell George about that?"

Bess nodded. "I called her right before I called you. She was outraged and insisted that I call you and tell you what happened right away."

Nancy grimaced. "But I don't know where we should stay. I mean it's so sudden. From here, going to New York would be a few hours of driving, but picking a place to stay in could be a trouble. Do you think we can stay in Bailey's house?"

"Oh, yes! Bailey told me that her house is about ten miles from the airport. Her house is in the suburbs. She has plenty of rooms for three of us to stay in. It won't be a problem."

Nancy smiled. "All right, then. I think we should go there tomorrow morning, if my dad allows me to."

Nancy went back to her house right away. She closed the door as she stepped into her house. Hannah Gruen, who was the housekeeper in Drews' residence, came to the front door to greet Nancy.

"Hello, Nancy. Are you looking for your father?"

Nancy nodded. "Yes. I need Dad's permission to go to New York tomorrow."

"New York?" Hannah was surprised. "Are you on a case again?"

"Yes," Nancy said, smiling. "Anyway, do you know where Dad is? I saw him right before I left."

"He's in his office, dear. Do you want anything to drink?"

Nancy grinned. "That would be nice, Hannah."

As the housekeeper went into the kitchen to get a glass of something to drink, Nancy sat down on the chair in the kitchen. Then, she heard bark from underneath the table.

"Togo!" Nancy shouted, noticing her dog licking her hand. "Well, well, are you hungry down there?"

"Oh, no, he isn't!" Hannah said as she came back with a glass full of iced tea. "I just fed him a whole can of dog food. I thought he was going to gobble me up if I didn't give him enough to eat. He probably wants you to play with him, dear. Oh, and by the way, your father is in his office, but he told me that he might go to New York for a case tomorrow."

"Dad is on a case?" Nancy asked, astounded. "I have to go there and ask him."

Leaving Togo behind, Nancy ran to her Mustang and started the engine. In less than half an hour, she was running out of her car into her father's office.

"Well, Nancy! What brings you here?" Carson Drew asked cheerfully.

"Dad, I have a case to investigate and need to go to the Big Apple tomorrow."

"Big Apple! Why, that's a strange coincidence! I happen to be going there tomorrow as well. A client of mine says that an accident happened in a theater and the person who avoided the falling sandbag is now suing the owner. I am there to defend the owner of the theater, whose name is Henry Saraland."

"And my case involves an old friend of mine and wants help proving that she is innocent of a theft. Since we are going there, I'll drive with Bess and George to New York in my car and you in yours, okay?"

Mr. Drew nodded. "Fine with me. It's good as long as you are not involved with any dangerous criminal or doing something dangerous yourself."

The next morning, Nancy heard the doorbell ring as she finished packing up her suitcase. She opened the door and found Bess and George on the front porch. Bess was as cheerful as ever, wearing a lemon-colored dress that matched the color of her hair. George was as tomboyish as ever, wearing her blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Come on, Nancy!" Bess shouted cheerfully. "I can't wait to meet Bailey. I just talked to her online a couple of times, but I never met her face-to-face for years!"

The girls cheerfully got into Nancy's car and when all the suitcases were in the car, Nancy turned the ignition on and started driving.

In less than three hours, Nancy was knocking on the Higgins residence's door. The house was beautiful. She thought all the houses in New York were small and crammed together, but she was wrong. The house was even bigger than hers, mostly because it was in suburbs of New York City.

The garden was surrounded in fences and trees were in the middle of the front yard. Backyard was also as wide; there was a pool and an oak tree in the garden.

Bailey Higgins, a redheaded eighteen-year-old, opened the door cautiously. When she saw that her guests were her schoolmates, she swung the door open.

"You wouldn't believe how glad I am!" she shouted, so glad she could meet her best friends. "I was waiting for you all day. Please come in. And let me get the suitcases for you."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," George, who was very athletic, said. "I can bring these suitcases upstairs myself. Can you show us our rooms?"

Bailey went up the staircase that led to a wide hallway. She then opened one of the doors on the wall. "Here is a guest room facing north. Right next to this room is another guest room. The room adjacent to that is my bedroom. I'll bring you girls some juice in a moment."

As the girl went downstairs, her mother came into the room and smiled warmly as she saw her new guests.

"I'm Bailey's mother, Sybil Higgins. I had no idea Bailey knew a friend who was a detective. You see, I have a friend from my university years who had two nephews. She said that they are great in solving mysteries, so I thought of hiring them. But they don't take money, saying that they were simply amateur detectives like you, Nancy. They are about your age."

Nephews? Amateur detectives? About my age?

Nancy thought that it was strangely familiar. Could the "nephews" be…?

Knock-knock.

"Oh, someone's at the door. Please excuse me, Nancy."

Mrs. Higgins walked down the staircase and to the front door. From the second floor, Nancy, Bess, and George could hear the conversation downstairs.

"Why, hello! I didn't think you would be here this early. Please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, thank you, Ms. Higgins," a male voice came. It was extremely familiar. In a moment, Nancy knew who the new visitors were.

Dashing down the staircase with her two chums, Nancy ran to the front door and shouted as she saw who the two detectives were.

"Frank and Joe Hardy!"


	2. Detectives Unite!

_**2**_

Detectives Unite! 

Frank and Joe were equally surprised.

"Nancy!" Frank finally exclaimed after a long pause. "What brings you to New York?"

"The investigation, of course!" Nancy answered, a smile coming up on her face. "I didn't know that your friend was Frank and Joe's aunt, Mrs. Higgins!"

Mrs. Higgins laughed. "I forgot to mention that Gertrude Hardy introduced me to these two young sleuths."

After a few minutes at the front porch talking about their past cases, Frank and Joe decided to get back on the present case.

"By the way, what was stolen?" Nancy asked Mrs. Higgins.

Mrs. Higgins sighed. "Well, there is a snobby neighbor Catalina Dilworth. She was gone for a few days with her husband, and when she came back, her cherished treasure, the Vase of Norma was gone!"

"Vase of Norma?" Frank asked.

"I'm not really sure what is going on here, but the moment she found it gone, she noticed that the window was not locked. When she looked out the window, she saw a trail of footprints leading from the window to the window of our house."

Nancy thought for a moment. "Could it be possible for someone to just break into the house and leave footprints and then climb back up the roof?"

Mrs. Higgins shook her head. "No. The police said that there wasn't any footprint on the roof. It's really hard to explain. Please come outside. This happened two days ago, so the footprints are still barely visible."

With those words, Mrs. Higgins led the three detectives to the back of the house. There was a huge mansion right behind Bailey's residence. Nancy figured out that the house must have been Mrs. Dilworth's.

"Well, here are the footprints. The police investigated and said that all the footprints came from one pair of shoes."

Nancy looked at the footprints. They were barely visible.

"That day, it was raining all morning, so the footprints were made very clearly. You might want to ask Catalina about this: she and her husband found the footprints after coming home from Vegas. Oh, before I forget, here are the photos taken by the police when they came here."

Mrs. Higgins handed Nancy a bunch of photographs of the footprints. As Mrs. Higgins said, they were made by one pair of shoes, and they weren't very big. The feet of a girl of eighteen could fit in the shoes easily and quite comfortably.

Joe and Frank also looked at the footprints and the ones in the photographs. Joe said as he handed them to Frank: "I think the best thing to do is as this lady about what she had seen when she came back."

Frank nodded. "Good idea." He then turned to Nancy. "What about you, Nancy? Do you want to come with us to investigate?"

Nancy smiled. "Of course. It's been so long since we last investigated together."

Bess and George, however, refused to go. "Three detectives are enough for one robbery case. I think Bess and I will go around the city for some spots to visit," George said. "And don't hesitate to ask for help, Nancy."

Nodding, Nancy asked. "So will you girls be back by dinner?"

"Sure, Nance," Bess answered. "See you sleuths in dinnertime, okay?"

With a wave of hand, Bess and George went back in the house. Frank, Joe, and Nancy headed for the Dilworths' mansion.

As Frank rang the doorbell, a car entered the garage. A woman who was as tall as Frank got out and walked to the three strangers. "Well, can I help you?" she asked in a gruff voice.

"Yes. We are investigating the robbery that happened here. You are Mrs. Dilworth, I presume?" Joe said.

"If I'm not Catalina Walker Dilworth, then I don't know who I am. Please come in. I'd like to prove that filthy girl next door guilty, after all."

The woman's attitude angered Nancy. She just wanted to walk away but knew she needed to get information that could prove her friend innocent.

The three young detectives were led to a wide living room with a grand piano, a table, and two sofas. The lady, who was about thirty years of age, asked them to sit down, so they did. After ordering the maid to get the guests something to drink, Mrs. Dilworth sat down and asked for what they wanted to know.

"We wanted to know when you came back and how you found the footprints," Frank began.

"Oh, that. John and I came back from Las Vegas, and it was about ten in the morning when we got to the front yard. We took a taxi home, of course. When I opened the door and went inside with the suitcases, I heard something shatter downstairs. John and I ran to the living room and saw the figure in front of the piano over there, shattering the glass to get our precious Vase of Norma! I screamed. He put the vase into a duffel bag he carried and fled. John ran after him.

"The person wore black sweatshirt, black pants, black ski mask, and brown shoes. He ran to the direction of the kitchen and used the staircase to get to the third floor."

As Mrs. Dilworth took a breath, the maid came in with a plate with four cups of hot chocolate. She set the cups down wordlessly and went back into the kitchen. Mrs. Dilworth took a sip out of the cup. She then continued talking.

"John and I ran after him, of course. When he ran into one of the rooms that led to a balcony, he locked the door behind him. Since I carried the master key that would open any door in the house, I opened the door. We then noticed that the thief with the vase was gone!

"Noticing that the window to the balcony was open, we ran to the balcony and looking down onto the ground. There, we saw the footprints leading to and from this house! We figured that the thief must have jumped down onto the ground and went to the direction of the house, so we ran back to the first floor and called the police using the phone in the kitchen. After the longest five minutes of my life, the police finally came and took the place apart looking for the fingerprints and footprints and whatever they thought that could have come from the thief."

"And it was raining the whole time, am I correct?" Frank asked.

The wealthy lady nodded. "It was raining, fortunately, so we could spot the footprints clearly. After we told the police what we saw, they went to that house and found a girl in the residence. I think her name was Reilly or something."

"Bailey," Nancy corrected the woman. "Anyway, thank you for your time. Would you mind if we look around the scene of the crime?"

"Not at all. Please find useful evidences to prove that girl guilty!" Nearly spitting the last word out, Mrs. Dilworth went back into the kitchen and to the second floor.

"That nerve of hers to call my friend a burglar!" Nancy said under her breath. Then, she went out with Frank and Joe to look at the footprints.

"This looks interesting," Frank said. "Don't you see something weird in here, Joe?"

"Yeah," Joe said. "If the criminal wore black from head to toe, then why didn't he wear black shoes instead of brown ones?"

"That's not the case, Joe," Frank said. "It's—"

"—the reason the burglar had to run all the way up to the third floor and then jump down onto the ground." Nancy finished the sentence for Frank. "Right?"

Frank nodded. "There must be a reason to why he had to go to third floor."

"And the second thing," Nancy mentioned. "Why did the burglar rob the house on that day? If the Dilworths were on vacation, the best time would be right after they took off. At least, I would have done so. Seeing that he also knew where the stairs were also confuses me."

Nodding in agreement, Frank continued Nancy's thought. "It's pretty unnatural to have stairs in the dining room. If the thief were rushing to get out, the best way would be through the back door in the kitchen. I went over there once and noticed the door. It didn't need a key to open, and anyone from the inside could have gotten out easily."

"But he had to turn around and go up the stairs and go to the third floor," Joe joined in. "This really is weird. I wonder if the thief planned this out from the beginning."

The girl detective agreed. "This is a planned crime, all right. What I don't get is why the thief got this vase. It seems like the vase couldn't have been seen from anyone passing by." She went inside and found Mrs. Dilworth sitting on the sofa.

"Mrs. Dilworth," she asked, "have you mentioned the vase to anyone in particular?"

"Heavens, no!" Mrs. Dilworth shouted. "I haven't shown it to or told anybody. This was a gift from my husband's cousin in Scotland. It was a family treasure, as John said. I got it just ten days ago. John and I went on vacation for seven days, so we got it three days before we went on vacation. No guest came since the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm sure nobody knows it's even here!"

Nancy was perplexed. It was not known to public, so how did the thief know that Mrs. Dilworth had the vase? And why did the thief leave the footprints behind, letting her believe that Bailey was the burglar, when she obviously was not?

While Nancy was asking Mrs. Dilworth questions, the Hardys were looking down at the footprints. "Hey, Joe," Frank whispered to his brother. "Look at this."

Frank held out something that was in one of the footprints.

"Splinter?" Joe asked. He looked at the small piece of broken wood and said, "That looks new. I'll bet it broke off something when the robber tried to make his getaway."

"What I'm concerned with more is this thing on the splinter," Frank said, pointing to the tip of the splinter.

Joe took out his magnifying class. "This looks like…white paint."

Nodding, Frank went on, "Exactly. Why is there white paint on this splinter? And where did the splinter come from? Those questions can be answered pretty quickly."

"The balcony!" Joe nearly shouted, since he was excited he had made a discovery. "Let's go and investigate!"

Nancy looked down at her watch. It was nearly three o'clock. She had investigated for nearly an hour. No wonder her eyes were sore. She needed a break.

The girl sleuth sat down for a moment and started thinking about the case. She needed to take a rest if she wanted her mind to solve this mystery.

Deciding that a cup of cold drink would do best, Nancy got up from the sofa and went outside. The pre-Christmas vacation to New York was nice, but she needed to enjoy herself, not just work, work, and work.

"After all, Dad once told me…" Nancy thought, then stopped. There was one question she had not heard answered: where _was_ her father?

"Dad told me he was on a case, but he never mentioned where." Nancy thought about the conversation with her father the previous day:

"_Big Apple! Why, that's a strange coincidence! I happen to be going there tomorrow as well. A client of mine says that an accident happened in a theater and the person who avoided the falling sandbag is now suing the owner. I am there to defend the owner of the theater, whose name is Henry Saraland."_

The name of the owner was Henry Saraland! And he owned a theater her in New York. But Nancy never asked her father specifically where the theater was.

"Oh, well, Dad can handle the case himself," Nancy told herself.

As Nancy was walking down the sidewalk, she suddenly had a weird sensation, like someone was staring at her.

Nervous, Nancy took out her makeup kit and opened up the mirror. As she looked into her reflection, she saw something else behind her.

Just about five yards behind was a man who wore black mask, black jacket, black pants, and a cold stare, following her.


	3. Carson Drew's Case

**katie janeway: Thank you for reminding me that River Heights is a suburb of Chicago. But you have to remember that, during the 1960s and 1970s, the setting of River Heights was in New Jersey! (To find more, watch "_Mystery of Pirate's Cove_"or read _The Mystery of the Tolling Bell_) Also, I wanted Nancy, Frank, and Joe to be closer together so they could investigate more often. But once again, thank you for pointing that out.**

_**3**_

Carson Drew's Case 

Thirty miles away, Carson Drew, Nancy's father, arrived at the Grande Wallace Theatre. Getting out of his car, he looked around for the sign of his friend.

"Carson!" a voice shouted from behind. Surprised, Mr. Drew looked back and saw a chubby man of about fifty years of age running toward him.

"Henry!" Mr. Drew said. "It's been more than twenty-five years since we last met."

Mr. Saraland smiled. "I was afraid the traffic jam got you, Carson!"

Mr. Drew grinned. "We got out of River Heights early. It took just a few hours to get here." Then, his expression got serious. "What is the case about?"

"Well, I don't want to talk here. Can you come to my house to discuss this? It needs not even ten minutes of driving to get there. Follow my car."

With those words, Mr. Saraland went into his car and drove off. Mr. Drew did as told and followed him. In less than ten minutes, their car stopped in front of a two-story house along Main Street. Parking his car there, Mr. Drew walked toward the house as Mr. Saraland got his key.

Once inside, the attorney's friend quickly closed the door and asked if he could wait in the living room while he went and got coffee. Mr. Drew agreed and sat down onto the couch in the cozy living room.

As Mr. Saraland came into the room with two cups of coffee, Mr. Drew smiled and got a cup. His friend sat down onto the chair facing the couch. "Carson, since the last few days, a play group has been renting my theater for performances. One of the actresses, Cornelia Yaupon, nearly got hurt during the play rehearsal."

"Nearly got hurt?" Mr. Drew asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when she was practicing with the rest of the members, the rope that was supposed to hold the chandelier snapped. Luckily, she was walking toward the audience, so she missed the chandelier by a narrow inch!"

Carson Drew nodded. "That is kind of queer."

"And if that wasn't the worst, the actress is blaming me of not being careful with the stage props."

"Wait," Mr. Drew interrupted. "Aren't the prop people doing this job?"

Nodding, Mr. Saraland added, "The stagehand was absent during that day, so I was asked to do the job. I had experience in acting and being a stagehand, so I got the job. I knew the rope was tight and secured, but the rehearsal revealed otherwise. Trust me, I did check, and I was not wrong."

"So this was merely an accident, wasn't it?" Mr. Drew asked, sipping his coffee.

"No, it wasn't," Mr. Saraland spoke up. "I went and looked at the rope. It seemed like it was sawed through!"

"Sawed through!" Mr. Drew nearly spilled his coffee as he shouted the words. "That could mean serious harm, Henry. If they believe that it were you, they might sue you for an attempted murder!"

Mr. Saraland again nodded. "And that's why I want you to investigate this case. I know you are an attorney, but you are also my friend from high school. I want you to do this, since I don't want the police to get involved yet."

"I see," said Mr. Drew, leaning toward the back of the couch. "Well, I'll see what I can do. And I'd like to take a look at the theater, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Mr. Saraland said. "I'll give you the key. Oh, and I'm supposed to go to a meeting in New Jersey tonight, so I won't be able to give you a tour of the theater. The meeting will start in two hours, so I'd better get ready. Call if you have any question; I have my cell phone with me 24/7."

"All right, then," Mr. Drew said, standing up. He took the key from Mr. Saraland and they went out the door and got into their own cars. Mr. Saraland turned the ignition on and went to the direction of the borderline between New York and New Jersey.

Mr. Drew drove to the theater immediately. It was still bright outside, so the traffic was not very bad. He arrived at the theater shortly later. Finding the backdoor, he opened it with the key he got from the owner and went inside.

The theater was dark and hushed. Carson Drew decided that the performers must be at the back of the theater. He found the light switch and turned it on. As the lights flickered on, he noticed that the room was a snack bar. It was closed and the display cases were locked.

Going into the corridor behind the snack bar, the attorney heard people's voices behind the walls. He opened the door and saw a group of young actors and actresses rehearsing for their play. Mr. Drew decided not to get noticed and went silently to the door leading to the backstage.

Luckily, there was not a person in the backstage. The attorney closed the door behind him and went on.

He could hear the voices of people rehearsing from there, and he kept on investigating. He went to area where all the props were kept and looked around. He noticed that there was a staircase leading from the first floor to the second. He noiselessly climbed upstairs.

There were ropes everywhere. It was an old theater. He heard that it was built in the late nineteenth century. But even the experts did not know the history behind the theater well.

The reason for that was because in a fire that scorched the theater in 1927, all the books containing its history was burned to ashes. Now, even the person who built the theater is not known.

Mr. Drew carefully searched the place. Suddenly, he came across something sharp. Picking it up with his handkerchief to avoid having his fingerprints on the object, he observed it. It was an old-fashioned knife, probably left there by the saboteur.

The handle seemed to be made with brass. The blade itself was sharp. And on it was a piece of the rope that was lying around. Now the attorney was sure the knife was used by the saboteur, but what he didn't know was why someone would have to cut the chandelier's rope so it would fall onto one of the actresses.

"Did someone have a grudge against the members for some reason?" Carson Drew wondered. He then heard something move behind him.

"What was that?" he asked himself, surprised.

Standing up, Mr. Drew walked toward the direction from which the sound came from.

_Tap, tap, tap._

There it was again. The strange sound came into Mr. Drew's ears once again. What was that noise? Who was making it?

Carefully, Mr. Drew walked as quiet and careful as possible. Someone was close by. He knew it.

It sounded like someone was tapping the wall for some reason. Climbing down the stairway, Mr. Drew went to investigate. The actors were still rehearsing, as he heard their lines during the time he investigated.

_Clonk!_

Now the sound came from behind. Right behind. It seemed like someone had picked up something metallic.

Mr. Drew immediately sensed danger and turned around.

But it was too late.

Before he could do so, the figure swung down the metal bar right down onto Mr. Drew's head.


	4. Stalked By Danger

**_Foreword by author: Thank you for the five wonderful reviews! I enjoy teaming up Frank, Joe, and Nancy together. But this is not going to be like the Super Mysteries in many ways.There will be more action,twists in plot, and tricks in making the impossible crimes possible. Be sure to come back for the next update!_**

_**4**_

Stalked By Danger 

Nancy felt a chill down her spine as she saw the cold stare. Could the person possibly be the one who stole the vase?

Bravely, Nancy turned around to face the stalker. "Who are you?" she asked, preparing to run if the man started running toward her. She knew she could outrun him. It was not even ten yards away from the front porch of her friend's house. And she could run a mile with ease if she had to.

The man seemed to smirk beneath his mask. "I'm warning you, Nancy Drew," he said as he stopped walking. "This is just the beginning of your last case."

With those words, the man turned around and started running instead to the other direction.

Nancy was confused. In an instant, she remembered that she should follow him instead. She started running after him. He turned the corner as he ran about a mile. Ten seconds later, Nancy turned around the same corner.

"What the…?"

As she turned around the corner, she bumped into a dead end! She looked around. No, there wasn't a door on either side of the wall, and the wall was too high for anybody to jump over. Then, how did the man manage to escape?

Nancy was astounded. He just disappeared into thin air! Again, she looked back. There was no mistake; he had come into this dead end, but he managed to escape—somehow.

Knowing that she let the man escape, Nancy turned around when she stepped on a piece of paper. "What's this?" she murmured to herself as she picked it up. She saw that it was a magazine clipping from today's _New York Times_. It was an ad saying: "Spectacles await at Grande Wallace Theatre! Come by today to watch the latest play, _Romance By Envy_, starring the famous Cornelia Yaupon from _Lights Out_, a popular play directed by Jacob Sisisky."

"Cornelia Yaupon? Wasn't she—?" Nancy suddenly felt something light up in her mind. "Maybe this theater is the one where Dad is investigating his case."

Nancy looked at the right hand corner of the piece of paper. "Call Henry Saraland for details."

Henry Saraland! She was right. It _was_ the right theater.

"Now all I have to do is go there…" Nancy returned to the house. She saw the two Hardys standing on the balcony on the third floor of Mrs. Dilworth's mansion. They seemed like they were thinking about something.

"Hey! Frank! Joe!" called Nancy, waving her hand at her two friends.

Frank and Joe seemed to notice and waved back. "I think I've solved the case!" Joe shouted.

"You mean, 'we' solved the case," Frank said, elbowing his brother playfully.

After a minute, the Hardys got out of the house and were walking toward the girl detective.

"What do you mean you solved the case?" Nancy asked with a surprised expression. "So you know the thief now?"

Frank and Joe shook their heads. "No. We figured out that the thief could have been other people besides your friend, Nancy," Frank said.

The three went into the house. Mrs. Dilworth came to greet them.

"You say that you've found how the person got in and out of the house?" she asked, surprised, as they told her their discovery.

Nodding, Frank told her, "I'll show you. Please come to the kitchen." He looked and winked at Joe, who grinned and nodded as a response.

When the mistress entered the kitchen, Frank said, "Imagine that Joe here is the crook. We just noticed you come into the kitchen."

"O…okay…" Mrs. Dilworth said. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Suddenly, Joe turned and ran into the dining room. "Follow me," he called as he went upstairs. Hesitantly, Mrs. Dilworth followed Joe, Frank, and Nancy upstairs. Then, the 'thief' turned and went up to the third floor.

As Joe ran into the room leading to the balcony, he closed the door behind him as he went inside. Frank went and opened the door. Mrs. Dilworth looked inside and gasped. "He is gone!"

Frank and Nancy went to the balcony and looked down. "Look!" Frank shouted. "There is a set of footprints leading from this mansion to the neighboring one!"

Turning around to face Mrs. Dilworth, Frank smiled. "And that's how the burglar got away."

"Wait a minute!" Nancy said. "Then, where did Joe go?"

"I'm over here!"

Nancy and Mrs. Dilworth looked down to see Joe waving from the balcony right under the one on the third floor. He landed on the second floor balcony, not on the ground!

"Oh, I get it now!" Nancy shouted. "The reason the thief went to the third floor was because he needed to escape to the second floor and let Mr. and Mrs. Dilworth notice that the thief ran to Bailey's house!"

"You got it!" Joe said, entering the room they were in. "The thief must have used a hook to temporarily get the rope ready to use. When he was on the second floor, he just raise the rope up in order to retrieve the hook.

"He had more than enough time to do this, since the door had only one master key to open and he locked the door from the inside. The door is too thick to break down, so he knew that in order to get in, you would have had to use the key, Mrs. Dilworth."

"And that was the reason we found some white paint on the footprint. It was from the balcony, and the culprit must have scratched it off as he was retrieving the hook from the balcony," Frank explained.

Mrs. Dilworth was relieved for a moment. "Then, who actually did this?"

Nancy spoke up. "Think we should do more investigating in order to narrow the suspects. We can't search for suspects in a city as big as New York."

The three detectives excused themselves from the mansion. On their way to Bailey's residence, Nancy looked back at the place where she met the man in black coat.

No, she decided, I won't tell that to Frank and Joe—yet.

But still, many things baffled Nancy. How did the man manage to disappear into thin air when he was about her height and size?

Nancy had lots of questions that were not answered, but she had no lead.

I know that Bailey is innocent. But then, who is the real culprit? And how am I supposed to find him in the United States' city with the largest population?

Frank and Joe were thinking the same thing: why did the culprit choose Bailey as a scapegoat?

As Nancy and the Hardys entered the house, they noticed that Bailey was waiting for them in the kitchen.

"Well? Nancy?" Bailey asked, excited. "Did you find out who the thief was?"

Smiling weakly, Nancy shook her head. "But don't worry. I'm sure he will be caught soon."

Bailey's expression changed into a sad one. "But you've got to understand that I'm not the thief, Nancy! Please don't let them think that I'm the one who stole the vase!"

Frank thought for a moment. "In the years of experience, this case might not only be an act of robbery, but an act of revenge as well.

"Revenge?" asked Bailey, her face tight in surprise.

"Yeah," said Joe. "I think that the person who left the footprints leading from the house to yours is trying to frame you. In that case, the person who is the thief might be holding a grudge against you."

"A grudge, huh?" Bailey thought for a moment. "Speaking of it, I think I do have an idea of the person who has a grudge against me."

"Really? Who?" Nancy asked, excited now that she had some leads.

Bailey explained, "During the last two years, Clarissa Pevely, a freshman in nearby university, has been mad at me for stealing her boyfriend."

Nancy gasped. "Did you really?" she asked.

Bailey laughed and shook her head. "I had no idea Ian Kolinsky even had a girlfriend. He just came to me and asked me to the school dance when I was a junior in high school."

"And anyone else?" Joe asked.

"Yes, speaking of Ian, he is angry at me now because I broke up with him."

"You broke up?" questioned Frank. "Why?"

Bailey shrugged. "I don't really like him. He was just too persistent and asked me if I had any other boyfriends. Of course, I didn't, but he was always thinking about that, and finally, we broke up a year ago. Well, I made him break up with me. I once saw him with another girl in the school, so I talked to him about it. He didn't admit, of course, so I told him that I wanted to break up with him. And he finally agreed. Now he might want revenge."

The eighteen-year-old girl bit her lip. "And there is one more person. His name is Alan Humphrey, a student in York University of Science. He studies the growth of a certain bacteria and has been keeping a record of it since the beginning of the year. On the notebook, there were many notes scribbled on each page.

"I was once working in that university to clean the lab to gain some cash during the summer vacation last year. I was in a rush to clean the place, since I was running late for my next job. Wiping the desks thoroughly, I didn't remember anything in specific, but I think I saw a notebook. I just tossed it into the garbage bin and left. When I came back, Alan was angry with me for throwing his notebook away. It had lots of information that was needed to continue the experiments."

She paused. Then, she continued, "But it wasn't my fault! I just did my job, and he didn't even put his name on the notebook."

Nancy thought for a moment. Then, she faced Frank and Joe. "I think the best thing to do here is to talk to those three suspects and find what their alibis were for the time of the theft." Nancy wanted to say, "and just now," but she stopped, since she didn't want to worry her friends.

"Oh, no!" Bailey looked at her watch and gasped. "I have to go. My job at the café is from three to eight, so I'm almost late. See you guys after that!" She then ran out of the door. As she went outside, she turned around for a brief moment and smiled at the three detectives. "And Nancy? I hope you can catch the thief as soon as possible. Thanks a lot, you guys."

Nancy watched as her friend's burgundy sedan turned around the corner and disappear into the busy traffic.

"Now," she said as she faced Frank and Joe. "Time to do some detective work!"

Just then, she heard the telephone ring in the kitchen. Mrs. Higgins had already gone out for shopping, so the house was empty. Nancy answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Miss Nancy Drew?" a male voice asked from the other side of the line.

"Yes," Nancy answered, surprised.

The person sounded as though he was in a rush. "Great. This is Dr. Bryce. Please come to Saint Comrade Hospital as soon as you can, Miss Drew. This is an emergency. Your father has been found knocked out in Grande Wallace Theatre. Right now he is in a coma!"

**_P.S. I will update the story once every seven to nine days, so come back in a week or so and you'll be able to read the next chapter!_**


	5. The Sealed Theater

_**5**_

The Sealed Theater

When Nancy realized what was happening, she was sitting on a chair in the hospital. It was the waiting room right in front of the emergency room. Frank and Joe sat next to her as she looked up. She didn't want to believe it, but her father was in it. He was in a coma, in a dangerous situation.

Nancy looked at the clock. It was already five o'clock. She had to call Bess and George and tell them what was happening.

Frank looked at Nancy. "You look pale, Nancy. Do you want to get something to drink?"

Nancy shook her head weakly. "No, I'm fine. I just have to call Bess and George and tell them what happened."

She stood up and dug into her purse. With trembling finger, she dialed Bess's cell phone number and waited for her friend to answer.

"Hello?" It was Bess. "What is it, Nancy?"

"You know that Dad is on a case in New York, don't you?"

"Uh-huh. You told us that during the car ride to New York. So what about him?"

"He's in a come."

"He's in a _what_!" Bess's voice was bewildered. "Don't tell me that he was attacked by the culprit!"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know if it was the culprit. He was found in this theater called Grande Wallace Theatre."

"Oh, my gosh!" Bess said. "You'd better talk to George, too. She hates when you don't tell her the latest news. Hang on."

Now it was George who was on the other side of the line. "Tell me everything, Nancy. What happened to Mr. Drew?"

"Well, apparently he hit his head and he was found by one of the actors, as the policeman explained."

"He hit his head? Don't you mean someone else hit his head?"

"I know Dad is not that careless, but the police say that it was an accident. Nobody else was in the building except for the actors and him, and the actors all had alibis, solid ones at that. And then they found that all doors were locked from the inside and there was no way a burglar could sneak in, since the lock could not be picked."

"Well, isn't it possible that someone had a spare key?" George asked.

Nancy sighed. "I said that to the police, too. But they said that the key was a special kind that had no way to reproduce it. So it's impossible to make a spare key."

George was distressed. "What about someone entering the building from the outside yesterday and then hid himself in the backstage? Isn't that possible?"

"No, the police say the doors were locked ever since the theater group had gone out for dinner last night, and they didn't see anybody following them as they entered the theater this morning. I hate to say this, but they closed this case as an accident until my dad wakes up and explain what happened. But I don't know when that'll be." Nancy was about to add "if ever" after that, but she stopped herself, thinking that it was bad to lose faith in her father.

"So the place was perfectly sealed. Did they search for any hidden entrances, as in the ones they have in the movies?"

Nancy nodded, even knowing that her friends couldn't see her nod. "They searched the place but found nothing. There wasn't anything unusual with the walls or anything. Well, they just did a rushed search, anyway, saying that they have more serious cases to solve."

"Ugh! Well, it seems like you are the only hope, Nance," George said.

"Oh, no, George. Frank and Joe are here to help, remember?"

George laughed heartily. "Good to hear that you are not as down as I thought. Good luck, Nancy, and a comment from my blonde cousin…"

"Go get the culprit, Nancy!" Bess said, taking the phone from George. "By the way, we are going to be back at seven to eat dinner at Bailey's. See you then!"

As Bess hung up, Nancy looked at Frank and Joe and smiled. "Let's go to the theater, shall we?"

Frank smiled. "That's the spirit, Nancy."

The threesome went into Nancy's car and drove to the theater immediately. As Nancy got out of her convertible, she looked up at the old theater that was in front of them. Nancy saw that it was very old, even when considering that the place was remodeled a few years ago. She looked at the lock. It was special, all right. The shape of the keyhole was round and odd-looking.

Nancy entered the building. The police already finished their investigation. The place was rather clean, with floors that were recently wiped. As Frank, Joe, and Nancy entered through the backdoor, they heard the group rehearsing. Frank looked up and around him. There was a staircase leading to the second floor, and many sandbags hung from the ceiling. He motioned for Nancy and Joe to continue after him as he walked slowly and noiselessly up the staircase.

Joe shone his flashlight around him. It was dark in the backstage. As he shone his flashlight onto the floor, he saw many ropes lying on the floor. He kneeled down and looked at the ropes. They were certainly old. It was as though nobody has ever been in the place for ages.

Frank got to the second floor. Grabbing the railing, he saw that there were even more ropes on the floor than on the ground downstairs. He looked at the pile of ropes and started digging in them. After a minute of digging, he found a flashlight, one that was smaller than Joe's, underneath the pile of ropes.

"This is Dad's flashlight!" Nancy exclaimed. "This must mean that he was knocked unconscious right here!"

Frank nodded. "And after he was hit, the attacker must have fled, kicking the ropes that was underneath him. See?" He shone his flashlight onto the floor a little farther from the pile of ropes. There were some places where the ropes seemed to have been kicked, making the shape of "U". Frank continued his explanation, "When the attacker kicked the ropes, some slid backwards and buried Mr. Drew's flashlight."

Nancy looked at the place. "I don't think we can look for any more clues around here; the police already came here, and I doubt they overlooked anything."

Joe nodded, standing up. "And I'd like to move around, not just staying in this dark, gloomy place."

The three detectives exited the theater from the backdoor. As they did so, Nancy still kept hearing the actors rehearsing for the performance that night.

"Ta-da!"

Bailey carried the tray with roasted chicken on it to the table, where Nancy, Frank, Joe, Bess, and George were waiting. It was seven o'clock that evening. Bailey and Mrs. Higgins heard the news from Bess and George and decided to make a heartwarming dinner for Nancy, especially after she had gone through such a shock.

The roasted chicken was placed in the center, and around that were soup, salad, glasses filled with either water or milk, and a basket with bread in it. The aroma of the dinner filled the entire kitchen and the dining hall as well. Nancy couldn't help smiling at the great dinner that was in front of her.

The chicken was delicious. After finishing the enjoyable dinner, the girl detective and her two friends said goodbye to Frank and Joe as they went back in their own motorcycles. Nancy watched as the two motorcycles disappeared into the busy traffic.

Bess looked at the time. "Well, I think there's still time for a drive in the city, Nancy. George and I went to the statue of liberty today and finally got to the top level after standing in line for an hour! You should have been there with us."

Nancy put her hands in her coat pocket. It was getting chilly. As she drew her hands out, she found that there was a piece of paper in her pocket. She got it out. It was the advertisement she had picked up earlier that day, when she was running after the person who was stalking her. Bess squeaked as she saw the ad.

"Oh my gosh! That is the ad for _Romance By Envy_! Oh, I love the acting of Cornelia Yaupon! Were you trying to surprise us with it?"

Nancy was about to say no, but she knew that it was a good idea for her; she could stick with Bess and get the information on the actors. After all, one of them might be the person who stole the vase and made Bailey look like the culprit in the process.

"Yeah, Bess. I thought you would enjoy it. How about going there tonight and tell me more about the actors?"

The line in front of the theater was long; there must have been at least two hundred people lining up to see the play. Nancy was glad she came an hour prior to the play, since the line started to get longer after that.

There was a parking lot in front of the theater, but it was filled with cars of all sizes and colors within matter of minutes.

"Don't you think it's exciting?" Bess asked George in glee.

"That's the last thing that comes to my mind," George said in boredom. She has never been a big fan of soap operas and romance, unlike her blonde cousin.

"So, Bess," Nancy asked, "can you tell me about the actors? Do you think they have motive in stealing the antique vase?"

Bess frowned. "I don't think any of them is even interested in antique collecting. Besides, they have too much money on their hands to consider stealing from a wealthy couple."

That Nancy could agree. But what she didn't know was why her father was knocked out in the theater.

"Do you think Dad saw or heard something which he wasn't supposed to?" Nancy asked.

George was deep in thought. "I think so. I guess he heard the actors talking about something illegal… something clandestine…"

"But I doubt it," Bess said, interrupting. "If they _were_ in something illegal, then why would they call the hospital and the police when they found Mr. Drew lying down on the floor?"

Nancy nodded. "That's a good point. If they were connected to something illegal, then they would not call the ambulance. I'm pretty sure they are not connected to the robbery, but I just had a bad feeling."

"Next person, please," a voice called. Nancy, Bess, and George turned to the lady in the ticket booth.

Nancy looked at the price. An adult's admission fee was twelve dollars. She took out her wallet from a purse.

All of a sudden, the person next to her bumped into her and snatched the purse away from her. Before anyone knew what happened, he started to flee.

"Hey!" Nancy shouted as she ran after him, followed by Bess and George. "Thief!"

Several people murmured as they watched the man run away from the crowd of people. But none of them made the effort to stop him.

Then, a man stepped up and, using his fist, knocked the thief down onto the ground.

"Oomph!" The thief let out a gasp and remained standing as he dropped the purse. As swift as a tiger, he ran to his car. Nancy was right after him, but she didn't have the chance to look at the license plate; in a flash, the thief turned on the engine and drove the car into the busy street, leaving no trace behind.

Nancy went over to the man who stopped the thief. "Thank you for stopping him," she said, picking up her purse. She took a look at the man. He was in his early twenties and had light brown hair that was similar to her boyfriend's. He wore a blue T-shirt and gray jeans. He also wore a black coat over the shirt and the jeans he was wearing. Grinning, he said, "Glad to be of service, miss. You should hang onto your purse from now on. I'm sure he was not the only thief around here in the Big Apple."

"I know," Nancy said, partly ashamed of herself. "Are you here for the play, too?"

"Not really. It's my day off, so I was planning to have dinner in nearby fast food restaurant. I'm Kendall Reagan, private detective."

"Private detective?" Bess said, catching up. "What a coincidence. Nancy here is a detective, too."

"_Amateur_ detective. My name is Nancy Drew. Nice to meet you."

"Nancy Drew? Oh, the daughter of the famous Carson Drew? I have read every single case Mr. Drew has handled and solved. He is practically a legend here at New York."

Nancy giggled. "It's great to know that my dad has a fan here." She looked at the time and gasped. "Oh, no, the play already started!"

Bess pointed to the ticket booth. The lady was still inside. "If we go now, we can still watch the play. Let's go before she closes the ticket booth!"

The three girls rushed to the ticket booth as Kendall stayed behind. Now, the long line of people was gone. Kendall looked around him and made sure there was nobody near him. He then took his cell phone out and dialed a number from memory.

"Hello? This is Kendall."

The traffic was getting bad. Cars were literally halted and were beeping at each other. Kendall was the only one on the street, yet nobody noticed him, particularly because of his black coat he wore.

"Do you know Nancy Drew, the famous girl detective?" Kendall asked.

The sky was cloudy. It had been cloudy ever since Nancy arrived at New York, but now, it started to rain.

"Yeah, she is in New York City right now."

The light from the neon sign right above him made his face look eerily blue. What made it even eerier was his smile. It was more like a smirk.

"Don't worry. She won't last another day, I promise."


	6. Trustless Suspects

I'm sorry for not updating my story in over a month!So here are two newest chapters. I hope you will enjoy them and write some reviews about them as well!

_**6**_

_**Trustless Suspects**_

The play went fine. Bess adored the show and its actors, while George tried her hardest not to fall asleep. Nancy kept asking Bess about the actors.

"You see that guy over there in blue shirt? He's Calvin Holm. He's the lead actor. And there is Cornelia Yaupon!"

Bess pointed to the lady dressed in fancy velvet dress. She had a cold blue stare and golden-blond hair. She seemed like one of those 3D characters: her face had no wrinkles, and her hair was perfectly silky. It seemed like they were naturally stuck together in a bunch but were somehow soft and silky.

Cornelia was a great actress. She spoke her lines with great energy and emotion. It was no wonder that so many people came to watch her act. Nancy was enjoying every minute of the play, and the audience—except for George, that is—were moved by the love the main character was showing to the protagonist with whom she was falling in love. Some of them—particularly in their forties—wiped their eyes with handkerchiefs while watching the play.

Just as the play had ended, the girls noticed that it was nine-thirty. The play lasted for about eighty minutes. Time seemed to fly, as always.

"That was a marvelous play, wasn't it?" Bess asked her friends as they exited the theater with the other audiences who went to watch the play that night. George yawned and looked at her watch.

"Yeah, it was more like trying to survive the eighty minutes of boredom!" George said.

Nancy took out her cell phone and dialed the Hardys' cell phone number.

"Hello?" It was Frank.

"Hi, Frank. I was wondering what you and Joe were doing right now?"

"Oh, we were just taking a tour around the city. Right now, we were visiting the gift shop by the ocean. They sold many smashing things, including Statue of Liberty pens where her torch is the tip of the pen. And Joe found something interesting, too."

"But what about you, Nancy? Found any clue yet?" Joe interrupted.

"Hey, am I always supposed to be investigating here? If you didn't know, I came here to work on a case _and _have fun; we don't go to New York as much as you two do, after all."

"Okay, so I guess we'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

Frank yawned and looked at his watch as he opened his eyes. It was nine-forty.

"Oh no!" he shouted as he jumped out of his bed. Brushing hs teeth as fast as he could, he got ready and went to his brother's hotel room, which was adjacent to his. He knocked on the door. "Joe! Hey, Joe!"

"Hold on a sec, Chet, Frank is banging on the door right now," came Joe's voice. After a moment, the door opened forcefully and Frank's brown-haired brother. "What is it? I was taking to Chet Morton until you interrupted."

"Joe, it's already nine-forty, and we are meeting Nancy in twenty minutes. That means we are going to get into our car in ten minutes. Now hurry up and get ready!"

Joe talked to Chet for a little longer, then he went down to the hotel's restaurant on the first floor with Frank.

"I guess I should call Nancy," Frank muttered, taking out his cell phone.

Nancy was awoken by the sweet scent of the pancakes being served on the table in the kitchen. She yawned as she arose, then changed into her street clothes. As she opened the door, she saw Bess and George getting out of their room and yawning. Checking the clock, Nancy was surprised at how late it was.

"Better hurry, Bess and George. We promised Frank and Joe that we will be ready by ten, and it's already nine-forty-five!" Nancy said hurriedly to her friends.

The trio entered the kitchen to find their friend Bailey sitting down on the table with Mrs. Higgins.

"Good morning, you three," Mrs. Higgins said. "Frank called just a few minutes ago. You forgot your cell phone here last night, so I answered it. They said they were on their way and will arrive by ten. I was planning to wake you up in a minute, but that's needless now. Here, sit down and enjoy your breakfast."

Nancy gladly took her seat—her stomach was growling so loud she thought she was having dozens of drums there—and took the knife and the fork. She then started enjoying her wonderful breakfast.

When she finished, she called the hospital where her father was in coma. The doctor gave her his cell phone number so she could call 24/7. Dr. Bryce answered the call immediately. "Nancy, we are proud to say that your father is out of coma, but he is still not quite conscious yet. I would like if you could come this afternoon at about four. By then, I'm sure your father will be awake."

"Okay, Dr. Bruce. Thank you, I will be there." As Nancy hung up, she told her friends what she had heard. They were all thrilled.

Highway was jammed with cars, since it was a weekend with a very nice weather that made even Nancy wanted to go out and jog around the park in her jersey. Beeping of cars were heard every other second, and Nancy was sick of the car's stopping after running for a few feet.

The radio was turned on, but Nancy's thoughts were on the three suspects she and her four friends were going to visit today.

"So who are we visiting first, Nancy?" Frank asked as he turned around to face the three girls at the back seat of the sedan the Hardys rented. Joe was driving, but his eyes frowned as the car moved slowly, if at all.

"Let's see," Nancy murmured, taking out her notepad. "Right now we are visiting Clarissa Pevely, a freshman in the nearby university. According to Bailey, she was living alone and had her home just outside New York. Since this is a weekend, I think it mght be the best time to talk with her. After all, she is one of the three suspects in this case…"

As time passed, less and less cars were on the road. Nancy immediately knew why: they were mostly heading to Central Park, a famous park located on Manhattan Island that faced the New York Bay. Even from here, Nancy could see the huge bay that would flow into Hudson River and eventually into the famous Hudson Bay, the largest bay in the world.

It was ten before eleven when they reached the residence of Clarissa Pevely, which Nancy found out by looking into the university's directory. It was a decent-sized townhouse, with two stories, freshly painted walls and newly installed sidings, a cleanly mowed garden, and an old-fashioned front door.

Frank rang the doorbell, then stepped back. After a few seconds, a tall woman with bushy auburn hair opened the door. Her makeup was poorly done, and it made Nancy think of a mime with auburn hair, which would have made her laugh, but, seeing that it was not the right moment, she tried her hardest not to. Instead, she asked the woman, "Are you Clarissa Pevely?"

"How many 'Clarissa Pevely' are in this city of New York? As far as I can see, I am the only one with that pathetic name," Clarissa replied.

Nancy was starting to dislike the woman's arrogant attitude and her needlessly used perfume, which started to tickle her nose after a while since it smelled so bad. She thought the woman had no sense in the use of makeup and perfume. It occurred to her as a surprise that even a woman like this could have a boyfriend. Trying not to wrinkle her nose—even though it was about to make her sneeze so bad—she asked the woman if she had a time to talk to her.

"Sure, sure, come in. I have a few minutes to spare right now." Clarissa then went back inside the house. Nancy looked at her friends. Bess and George were wiping their nose, obviously disturbed by the woman's strong perfume. Frank and Joe didn't seem to be disturbed. They entered the house.

Clarissa sat down onto a couch. "So what is it that you want to ask me?" she asked.

Frank cleared his throat. "Well, Clarissa, do you know a girl named Bailey Higgins?"

"Of course I do! She is a sly thief who took Ian away from me! How can I forget that little brat's name?" Clarissa shouted. She drank out of a bottle of water she had on the table.

"Did you know that she recently had been accused of a theft?"

"Why would I know? I don't really watch the news that much. Besides, I am too busy to do so. Anyway, what's your point?"

George interrupted, irritated, "Okay, I'll get straight to the point: where were you at ten A.M. last Thursday?"

"Me? Oh, I was in my house all along, talking to my boyfriend Kevin Holt. I'm sure he can prove it. I used the telephone over there at the counter, so it was impossible for me to get out of my house, unless the crime scene was three feet away. That telephone has a cord connecting the receiver with the base. It's pretty old-fashioned, I know. The cord can stretch up to three feet. Contact the phone service; I can bet they have the proof that I was here from nine-thirty to ten-thirty in the morning."

The Hardys looked at each other and nodded. They went to the telephone Clarissa was pointing to and took the receiver. She was right; the cord stretched up to three feet at the maximum. Bess, smelling that the room was filled with unpleasant combination of various perfumes, pulled Nancy's sleeve to indicate that she wanted—no, was _desperate_—to get out of the house. Nancy sensed her friend's plea and thanked the freshman. Then, they went out of the building. Just as they did so, Bess let out a gasp.

"I thought I was going to suffocate in there!" she cried.

The next car ride was a quick one. Frank skillfully turned the wheel as the cars nearby beeped angrily because they were almost hit by the sedan.

Joe looked at the map. "We are going to be meeting this Ian Kolinsky next. He spends his vacation in the university, Bailey says. I think we should go visit him and check his side of the story."

The group of five entered the fraternity building in the university. A husky man who was a year older than Frank answered the door. "What is it?" he asked. He then saw the three girls looking at him. "I thought the Christmas Party was a week later!"

Nancy smiled. "No, we are here to talk with you about something…You know Bailey Higgins, don't you? We are her friends."

"Sure I do! I dated that hot chick for a few wonderful months, back when we were in high school. I thought I saw her with a man a couple of times when we were dating, so I asked her about this. But she said that it wasn't her. She said that I must have made a mistake. But I could swear it was her, talking to that brown-haired guy who was obviously taller and older than her. But I guess it was my imagination, but my suspicion made her really ticked off, so we broke up… I don't really want to talk about it right now. So, what about her?"

"She is in trouble just because someone was framing her."

"What do you mean?" A sudden shock swept over the man's face. To Nancy, he didn't seem to be acting, but if he was he could get an Academy Award for best actor.

"She was blamed for stealing a priceless vase from her neighbor," Frank said. "And we were asking you about what you did on Thursday morning."

Ian scratched his head. "I was here all along. It was eating breakfast from seven to eight. Then, I was watching the rerun of the game I missed. I guess the rerun lasted until eleven o'clock. Three of my friends were in the room watching the game, so that's not a problem proving it. After that, I started eating lunch until noon, and…"

"Well, I guess that's enough," Nancy interrupted. "I guess you are busy at the moment. We'd like to get going now." She stood up and glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon. "Thanks a lot for your time."

"No problem," Ian said, also standing up.

George and Bess also stood up along with Frank and Joe. They left the building and headed for the sedan parked on the parking lot right next to it. As they got in, Nancy sighed. "Well, I guess these two have perfect alibis. Now, all we need to do is visit this Alan Humphrey…"

"But before that, I need some fueling," Joe said. "I'm starving."

"Same here," Bess said, groaning as she rubbed her stomach. "Got any idea to where we should eat lunch?"

Frank said, "I do."

The attention was then turned to Frank. "Aunt Gertrude took Joe and me to this old-fashioned restaurant when we were still in grade school. Do you remember The Yorker's Cuisine, Joe?"

"Oh, that!" Joe shouted and then chuckled. "I loved the hamburger they served, with the amazing grilled burger and their specialty sauce… I always had to go there whenever we visited New York City."

"And Joe would roll around the floor and cry whenever Aunt Gertrude would say no. But that was way back when he was just a first grader," Frank said and laughed.

Joe turned to his brother in mock anger. "Hey, you needn't say that, Frank! That's embarrassing!"

The three girls laughed and they agreed to go there to have lunch.

"Here you go, the Yorker's Delicacy Burger with freshly made buns and crisply fried French Frenzies," the waiter said cheerily as he set down on the table five plates with a hamburger, a salad, and a smaller plate with French fries arranged neatly on each. "And with those are two root beers, two Pepsis, and a diet coke."

The root beers were passed to the two Hardys, the Pepsis to Nancy and George, and the diet coke to Bess, who was always concerned about her expanding waistline, which even Nancy could agree a little after seeing how her friend ate in a buffet back in River Heights. It was just a week ago, when they were celebrating Nancy's solving her newest case _Warewolf in Winter Wonderland_. Bess, George, and Nancy were celebrating by going to the Old County Buffet for dinner. But Nancy couldn't believe how much her blond friend ate as she set her eyes on the buffet table; she thought that the place would go out of business because of one customer's eating all the food there!

"So are you passing the fries, Bess?" George asked her cousin.

Bess looked at the fries and then at her stomach. She had a mournful expression on her face that made Nancy worry that she would cry. But, of course, she didn't. She—for the first time ever, at least as long as Nancy could remember—passed her plate of French fries to the athletic brunette next to her. Nancy could see that even Frank and Joe were perplexed.

"I think this hamburger is big enough to fill me up for the day," Bess said, taking a bite out of the hamburger. "Wow, this is the best hamburger I've ever eaten!"

To this Nancy could agree. "This certainly is. The beef isn't like any other you'd taste in River Heights."

Nancy was about to dip her fries into the restaurant's specialty sauce when she saw a redheaded man open a folder with the name "Alan Humphrey" written on it.

Nancy looked up. "Excuse me, are you Alan Humphrey?"

The redheaded man turned around. He wore a pair of glasses with black rims, and he was wearing a jacket with the logo "New York University" printed on it. He nodded curiously. "Yes, I am Alan. And you are?"

"I am a friend of Bailey's," Nancy said. "You know, the girl who accidentally threw the notebook with your research in it."

"Oh, yes, I do remember that girl. I saw her name on the nametag she was wearing."

"I wanted to as you a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Well, I guess it's all right. But I do have to be at the science convention at one o'clock."

"Bailey has been blamed for the theft of a treasured vase, and we thought that someone was trying to frame her. I would like to know where you were Thursday morning."

Frowning, Alan said, "That girl is a scoundrel, and I won't be surprised even if she had stolen that vase, or whatever it was she had been accused of stealing. Anyway, I was at the meeting with other students at the New York University. We were there from nine to noon. Then, I got out and ate lunch. That's all you need to know. If you would like, I can provide you their names just in case you were wondering if I was telling the truth."

"Oh, that wouldn't be necessary, Alan," Nancy said. "Sorry for interrupting your lunch, by the way."

They remained silent. Nancy saw that Alan finished his lunch and was paying for it and tipping the waiter. As he left the restaurant, George sighed. "Well, it seems to me that he also has a solid alibi, Nance. What should we do? We asked all three suspects about their alibis, and they all had solid ones."

Frank and Joe were thinking about the same thing, and unless they could find out who was telling the lie, they were going to be stuck in this case—for good!


	7. Danger Lurking By

_**7**_

_**Danger Lurking By**_

Frank looked at the roadmap. "Well, the suspects all go to the New York University, so that's convenient, since we don't have to go around New York just to check their alibis."

"I just have a hunch that they were all telling the truth," Joe said.

"Can't be. One of them must be lying. Or that person must have come up with a clever trick to get themselves a solid alibi."

But Joe's hunch was right; all three of the suspects' alibis were airtight after all. Frank gritted his teeth impatiently as they got onto the sedan.

"So what now?" George said, leaning forward from the back seat. "I don't think we can do anything more."

"I have an idea," Joe said. "How about us going to that old theater once more and look for a hidden passageway. A theater that old must have one or two of them."

"Joe is right," Nancy said. "We should search the place more thoroughly now." She dug into her purse and grinned. "I even have five flashlights with freshly charged batteries."

The actors already packed up and left the theater when the group of detectives arrived. They entered the building and went straight to the backstage. Frank turned on the light as they closed the door behind them. "Okay, so we should split up. Joe, you can go investigate the hallways with Bess and George. Nancy and I will search the backstage for any concealed entrances."

"Okay," Joe said, also turning on his flashlight. He then left the backstage with Bess and George.

Nancy shone her flashlight around. Everything seemed to be fine and untouched, just as she had left them yesterday. But she had an eerie feeling that someone had been there and that someone was still in the building, spying on Nancy's every move.

Frank, on the other hand, was feeling around for any sign of a knob. He then found something unusual. There were a couple of light switches on the wall, but when he turned the switch on, he didn't see the lights flicker on. The switch was either broken or was tampered with. "Nancy! Come here!" he called.

"What is it?"

"This switch doesn't work. I think it's for the lights, but they don't turn on anything. Here." He then pointed the flashlight toward the switches so Nancy could see where they were. "I think someone could have been tampering with the switch."

Nancy took out her cell phone. She dialed Henry Saraland's cell phone number—which she found on the advertisement for the play she picked up yesterday—and listened. Mr. Saraland answered the call.

"Hello, Mr. Saraland. This is Nancy. I want to know if the actors complained to you about anything."

"Oh, yes," Mr. Saraland said. "They were complaining about the backstage lights being broken or something. I had no idea why that could be, since I just checked on it last week and it worked fine."

"I see… Can you tell us where the circuit breaker is?"

"It's down in the basement. Go straight to the back of the backstage and you'll find a door. Open it and go down the staircase and you'll find the breaker. But be careful; it can be pretty slippery in there."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Saraland. Oh, by the way, did the actors leave the building for good? Usually, they should be practicing right now."

Mr. Saraland sighed. "They said that there was another accident this morning. But this time, the curtain dropped suddenly while they were rehearsing."

"The curtain! But Mr. Saraland, the curtains in theaters are made to block sounds from coming out of the stage, so it is designed to be extremely heavy! The actor or actress might have been killed! Are they suing you for this?"

"Well, I hope not, since I was not even at the scene when it happened. I was in my hotel room this morning. And I checked the curtains before I left, of course, but they mysteriously break or fall. I seriously think I should sell that old theater to that Townsend man…"

"Townsend?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, about a month ago, there was a man named Wallace Townsend who wanted the old theater. He said he was interested in buying it. The price was nice, but I worked in here for decades, and I certainly couldn't sell it to a stranger like him! He said he lived in New York all his life, but I've never even heard of the name Townsend. So I said 'No, I don't want to sell this old theater to anyone.' And then he said 'Okay, but you should consider this for your own good.'"

"Did he really say that?"

"Yes! I was spooked by that, but I then thought that he was mad because I didn't sell him the theater. But you should know how connected I was with this place. I certainly couldn't leave it."

"I understand. I think that's all I wanted to ask you. Goodbye."

Nancy hung up. She saw Frank staring at her. "I heard what you said, Nancy. What was that about?"

Nancy explained to Frank in detail what Mr. Saraland had said. Frank put a hand through his dark-brown hair. "I guess we should talk to this Townsend guy."

"But we don't know where he lives," Nancy said, frustrated.

Joe was searching the hallway outside the backstage when he found the small piece of torn paper on the floor. He picked it up and looked at it. It was quite new; it was probably left there last night or the night before that. "But why would someone leave the note like this here? It's not as dusty as the poster pasted on the wall over there."

Bess came and looked at the piece of paper. "What's this?"

"Someone must have dropped this, but what was he doing here?" Joe said.

The blonde girl saw that it was right in front of the door that led to the backstage. "I think someone was going into the backstage when he dropped it. You can see faintly the footprints on the floor." She then pointed to the floor.

Joe nodded. "Those are man's shoes, all right."

"But what's on that torn piece of paper?" Bess asked, taking the piece of paper from Joe.

She turned the piece of paper around in her hand. It read: "OKY: YWWY-BM-B-NBO-OMBMRWY-BFQWOO-DBC. VJY."

"What the…" Joe was surprised. It was a code, obviously, of some sort. Under the first three letters—"OKY"—someone wrote "SUN."

"SUN… Could it mean Sunday?" Bess asked after thinking for a while.

"And by looking at that piece of paper, I'd say someone left there less than three days ago. It's not as dusty as the poster that is pasted on the wall right there."

"So the Saturday mentioned in the message could mean today!" Bess said. But we don't know what the message says."

Joe grinned. "Don't worry about that. Frank and I came up with this software that could decode coded messages."

Bess laughed. "Wow! Did you make this software yourselves?"

Joe shook his head. "We got some help from my dad's friend. He is a cryptographer and he came up with software. If you type what the letters stood for—in this case, three letters—and the computer would identify the right combination from numerous possibilities. I think three letters are enough to decode this simple message."

Joe took out his small notebook and jotted down the code and placed it on the ground just like how he found it.

"I think we should tell this to Frank and Nancy," Bess said. "They will be thrilled to find that we got a clue!"

George was looking at the seats. She looked under the seats and even crawled under them to find a clue of some sort. She then stood up. "Whew! There isn't even a clue here!"

George was about to give up when she saw a footprint on the floor. Someone had stepped into the theater with dirty shoes, and the shoeprints were faintly visible when she crouched.

"Where does this lead to?"

George's curiosity got the better of her sometimes. George started following the footprints.

"Huh?"

She had come to a dead end. To say exactly, she had come to a pillar at the edge of the theater. It was made of marble and she doubted it would move. She turned around.

"That can't be!" she muttered.

The footprints stopped right in front of the pillar! George checked it once again. She went to the entrance and followed the footprints. She again was facing the pillar.

"So this must be the secret entrance!" George said happily. Finally, she had found the secret passageway! But there was one question that was not answered in her investigation: "How do I open it?"

George grabbed the pillar and tried to move it, but it was useless. She then started pushing and pulling it, but the pillar made no effort to move.

George sighed and turned around, about to get help from her friends. But that was when the pillar opened silently, just like a door. A hand came from inside the pillar and grabbed George's arm.

"Huh?" George was shocked and confused at the sudden attack. With a strong pull, the hand pulled George into the pillar!

After that, the pillar closed silently, and the theater turned quiet once again.


	8. DeCrypto

_**8**_

_**DeCrypto**_

Joe was the first one to notice something was not right. George had gone into the theater ten minutes ago but didn't even say anything ever since. He became slightly uneasy with the silence that filled the theater.

"Don't you think George is taking too long to find a clue?" Bess asked, grabbing his arm. "Come on! Let's go check on her. I'm a little worried about George."

Joe nodded. Together, the two blond teenagers entered the theater. What they saw surprised them. No, it was what they didn't see that surprised them. "George is gone!" Bess screamed! She ran to the center of the theater, calling her brunette cousin's name. "George! George!"

The curtains went up. Frank and Nancy appeared from the backstage. "I think we found a new lead!" Frank said happily. He then saw the grim expression on his brother's face. "What happened here?"

"And where is George?" Nancy asked, coming out from the shadows. "I thought you were with her."

"Oh, this is horrible, Nancy!" Bess said, panicked. "George was looking for any useful clue alone in the stage. Then, when we went inside to check on her, she was gone!"

"Gone!" Nancy shouted, surprised. "But we didn't see anyone raise the curtains. If they did, we'd have seen it from backstage!"

"And if anyone grabbed George and went outside, we'd have seen them from the hallway for sure!" Joe said. "But we didn't. We were right in front of the door leading to the theater. It wasn't opened, that's for sure, and this door is the only way out!"

Nancy shook her head. "That's impossible! George must have struggled to free herself when someone had attacked her. But if she did, she would have screamed first. If she did so, then we would have heard it."

Frank then said, "I think it was possible that she screamed, but with these thick curtains, heavy doors, and thick walls, nobody could have heard her scream, even if she screamed as loud as her lung would have allowed."

"Oh, I knew I should've stayed with her!" Bess said, distressed. "Poor George… Hey, can it be possible that there was another secret passageway in here?"

Nancy looked around. "I guess that's possible. But then, where is the entrance to the secret passageway?"

Frank jumped off the stage. "Well, I guess we should begin investigating."

The foursome searched the area. Nancy was the one who found the strange footprints on the dusty floor. "Hey, look here, everyone!" she called. "I think this is a clue."

Frank, Joe, and Bess crowded in to look at the clue Nancy just found. Frank said, "This is interesting. The footprints are ending over here, but I don't see any opening. It's right in front of this pillar."

"Exactly," Nancy said. "Do you think this is the place where George was kidnapped?"

"Yeah," Bess murmured. "And I think she was kidnapped because she found out that this was where the secret entrance was!"

Nancy was not quite convinced, however. "I don't think so. If the kidnapper did kidnap George just because she found out that this was where the secret entrance was, then why did he just leave the footprints here? I think he was trying to make us notice these footprints."

"But if so, then why did he kidnap George?" Joe asked. He seemed confused.

"I don't know—yet," Nancy said. "But I think we should go outside and see if there was a car parked nearby."

The teenage detectives ran outside. Nancy ran outside and ran to the west exit of the building while Frank ran to the north exit and Joe the east one. After seeing that there was no car parked by the building, they ran back to the front entrance. That was when Frank heard George's frantic shout.

Nancy heard it, too, and she ran into the theater with Frank. When they opened the door, they saw the curtain move just a slightest bit. They did not hesitate: Frank and Joe ran as fast as they could across the theater and into the backstage.

"Huh?" Frank let out a confused gasp as he saw that no one was there. He looked around but found no sight of George or her captor. The only thing he heard was the sound of running footsteps coming from behind. Nancy and Bess joined them shortly and were perplexed when they saw the empty backstage.

"Where…where did they go?" Nancy asked. She turned on her flashlight and was trying to find a door or something that let the kidnapper escape.

She turned around and ran to the pillar where she saw the footprints end. To her surprise, the pillar was open and hollow; it was like a can that was cut open vertically. She knew that they were tricked.

"We were tricked," Frank said, as if he was reading her mind.

"What? How?" Joe asked.

"We thought the captor escaped through this secret entrance and ran outside to stop him, but it was nothing but a small room that could barely fit two people in it; the kidnapper knew that we were going to leave him and go outside, therefore letting him escape with George. My guess is that she was bound and gagged, but the gag came off by accident as they were getting out of the small room. After letting out a scream, the captor must have knocked her out using a stun gun or something."

"Stun gun?" Bess was horrified.

"Yeah. How else would you make an eighteen-year-old girl be quiet and stop struggling?" Frank said with a disgusted look on his face.

There was a silence, and it was Nancy who broke it. "Oh, it's already four o'clock! I have to meet Dad at the hospital by five."

"Then, we can go there with you," Joe said. He eyed Frank. Frank nodded.

"Sure, we would like to have a word with him about who knocked him out, anyway."

Nancy smiled. "That'll be great! Let's…"

Wha…?

Nancy leaned against the pillar. Her vision became blurry. The ground seemed to wobble beneath her feet. She could feel her knees shake a little bit.

"Are you okay, Nance?" Bess asked with a worried expression.

Blinking a few times cleared the fog. Nancy nodded, saying, "Yeah, I got a little dizzy, that's all."

The hospital was crowded with people. That was not usual, since it was winter and people often caught nasty colds. Nurses, doctors, and surgeons were walking hurriedly down the hallways. Frank, Joe, Bess, and Nancy walked into the elevator and got to the second floor, where she was told that her father would be.

Opening the door, Nancy was relieved to see her father sitting up in his bed reading a book. His forehead was bandaged.

"Hello, Nancy, Frank, Joe, Bess," he said, putting down his book. "I love seeing you here."

Nancy noticed that Mr. Saraland was there, too. He looked toward the attorney and bit his lower lip. "I'm so sorry, Carson. I knew you shouldn't have come here. I was so worried when they called to tell me that you were seriously injured."

"Oh, no, it was not that serious…" Mr. Drew started to say, but he was interrupted by the nurse who was coming into the room.

"Yes, it was, Mr. Drew. Your injury almost put a crack in your skull. Thank goodness you turned around just in time. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to be here but in the morgue instead!"

Nancy was worried. "You mean you were hit from behind? Then, you didn't see who the person was that hit you?"

Mr. Drew shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, did you call the police?" Frank asked.

"Yes, I did. They said they would look into this matter, but, since I don't even know what the attacker looked like, they said that they were going to do their best."

"So they are no help, in other words," Joe interrupted.

The gang left the room. As they were heading toward the car, the world wobbled again.

"Ungh!" Nancy held her head. What was wrong with her?

"Nancy, are you really all right?" Bess asked more concerned now.

Nancy shook her head. The dizziness went away again. "I think I just need to lie down…"

"Then come in the car, Nancy. I think you worked too hard," Joe said, opening the car door and motioning for Nancy to get in.

Frank turned the car key. "I guess we should go to the hotel room Joe and I are staying and get the deciphering program to crack the code."

Back at the hotel room, Frank started his laptop. He then clicked on the DeCryto icon located on the screen. As a new window opened, Nancy saw three windows of different sizes.

The smallest window at the top was a narrow one. There was a row that had the alphabets listed. Under each of the letters of the alphabet was a box where she could type one letter in each box.

The window beneath the narrow window was divided into two windows of equal size. The one on the left was labeled "Message Ciphered" and the one on the right was labeled "Message Deciphered." At the right hand corner of the "Message Ciphered" window was a red rectangular button with the word "Apply" written on it.

"This is a program where I can type in a message and it can help me decipher it. The box above shows what each of the letter stands for when being ciphered," Frank said, moving the curser on the Message Ciphered window. He typed in the message.

Dizziness struck Nancy. She leaned on the counter. Nobody else seemed to sense that something was wrong with Nancy.

Bess was the first one to give a suggestion. "There is the word YWWY. I think this is a word like 'noon' or 'peep'. I can bet that these letters stand for noon."

Joe typed NOON under YWWY and the software automatically took all W and Y's and changed them to O and N's, respectively.

Dizzy… So dizzy… Nancy placed her hand on her forehead to stay still.

Frank nodded. "And I have a hunch that OMBMRWY stands for STATION. And if that is station…"

Sweat was trickling down Nancy's forehead. She thought she was going to faint any second.

"NBO must mean GAS!" Joe said. "And BM stands for AT!"

"Wow, this is like a jigsaw puzzle!" Bess said excitedly. "But what is BFQWOO?"

Nancy's knees were shaking now. What was wrong with her? What was happening?

"Since we already know that B stands for A, W stands for O, and O stands for S," answered Frank, "I can hypothesize that the word is 'across'."

Tappity-tap-tap.

Frank entered the letters into the message. The software immediately showed what each letter stood for at the top window. Now, the detectives had the message: "Sun: noon at a gas station across a. n."

"Now is the time we use this special feature we got in this software. When I click on this button right here, the computer finds the pattern in deciphering and will decipher the entire message for us!"

So…dizzy…have…to…stay…

The deciphering didn't take long. After a moment, the detectives saw the message clearly on the screen:

"Sat: noon at a gas station across bay. Ken."

"Oh, I get the pattern now!" Bess said. "A goes to Z and B goes to A. C goes to Y, and D to B. Then, we go back and forth through the alphabet and end up with Z at M."

"That's right. This is one of the easier ones to decipher," Joe said. "I got the message, Nancy! I can bet that Saturday means tomorrow…" Joe turned around.

At that moment, Nancy lost control and fell down on the floor.


	9. Another One Down

_**9**_

_**Another One Down**_

Everything happened so fast.

"Nancy! Nancy!" Frank said, rushing to Nancy.

Joe rushed by. "What happened?"

"Wake up, Nancy!" Bess shouted, frantic.

"Whoa, her forehead is burning!" Frank shouted as he touched Nancy's forehead. "She must be having a fever. Bess! We've got to get her to the hospital! Pronto!"

Bess nodded and ran outside with the car key. As she opened it, Frank and Joe carried Nancy into the car's backseat and closed the door.

"This car only seats three people, since Nancy has to lie down at the back, so I think you and Joe should accompany her," the blonde girl said. "I'll wait here."

The older of the Hardys nodded and turned the ignition on. "We'll call you and let you know how Nancy is doing."

Bess watched as the Hardys drove Nancy to the hospital. When the car disappeared around the corner, she sighed and went into the house.

"I hope Nancy gets better soon…" she murmured as she opened the door.

Frank and Joe waited in front of the doctor's room for nearly ten minutes before the doctor came out of the room. He smiled as he saw Frank and Joe.

"It's the fever. I get people come in to my office because they got this fever that is spreading around the area. By looking at the symptoms, I can say that she got a mild case of this fever. She must have been working too hard or was stressed. It's best for her to stay in her house for at least a few days. When a person is tired, their fever gets worse really quickly."

Joe nodded solemnly. "So what about medication? Is there medicine she should take?"

The doctor shook his head. "The best medicine we have is getting enough rest. The reason people got the fever is because they didn't get enough rest or were working too hard."

"I understand. So, can we see her now?"

"Yes, she is awake but is a little shaky. She should have come here when she was beginning to feel woozy or dizzy."

Frank and Joe entered the office and saw Nancy sitting on a reclined chair. Nancy looked at them and smiled.

"Are you feeling any better now?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, I feel shaky, but other than that, I'm fine."

"But the doctor thinks otherwise," Joe said. "Nancy, you should have told us when you started getting dizzy. You shouldn't have held it for so long, especially when you were exhausted and had caught a fever."

Nancy blushed, embarrassed. "I thought it was just because I was working a little too hard on my investigation."

"I'm glad it's not too serious," Frank said, smiling. "We'd better call the Higgins about this and ask them if Nancy can stay there for a day or two."

Nancy shook her head and coughed. "No, I don't want Bailey or Mrs. Higgins catching my fever. I want to stay in a hotel room so nobody can catch my cold."

"All right, then," Joe said. "I'll call the hotel we're staying at and make and get a room for you."

Joe left the room to call the hotel clerk. When he came back, he said, "I got the only room that was available. Thankfully, a couple couldn't make it for vacation this week because of sudden change in schedule."

Nancy was glad. "But we have to go Bailey's house to get my suitcases…" She blinked and her eyes got wider. "Oh, no! We totally forgot about George! We have to call the police about this."

Frank remembered that, too. "But according to the state policy, the person must be gone for at least twenty-four hours before considered missing, unless an evidence is present that George was kidnapped at the premise. In other words, unless we can find a clue stating that George was being against her will somewhere, the police are no use."

After getting out of the hospital, Frank, Joe, and Nancy went to Bailey's house. Mrs. Bailey answered the door. When she looked at Nancy, her face got pale.

"Why, Nancy! You look like you have a fever!"

Nancy smiled slightly. "I'm afraid I do. I have to get my suitcases and move to the hotel room I'll be staying at."

"Hotel room? It was very lucky you could even find one! You could have told us that. I could have prepared for you some fruits and vegetables for dinner. But…" Mrs. Higgins looked at the trio. "Where are Bess and George?"

Nancy was about to say that George was kidnapped, but before she could do so, Frank interrupted. "They are back at the hotel room Joe and I are staying in right now." Nancy understood that he was not planning to worry Mrs. Higgins even more and decided to go along with Frank's statement.

"Oh, I see…"

"I didn't want you catching my fever, so I decided to stay by myself." Nancy looked around, changing the subject. "Where is Bailey?"

Mrs. Higgins looked at the clock. "It's still six. She is at work right now. I think she will be back at six-forty or so."

"Okay. Will you tell her about this when she comes back? Or does she have a cell phone?"

Mrs. Higgins shook her head. "Her cell phone broke two days ago, when it fell out of her purse. We are planning to get a new one for her, but right now, she doesn't have any."

The detectives then carried out all the suitcases Nancy had in the guest room. After loading them in the trunk, they drove straight to the hotel where Nancy and the Hardys would be staying.

Bess heard a knock on the door. She put down the magazine she was reading and opened the door. "Yes?"

A person stood there with a stun gun in their right hand. Bess noticed that right away and gasped. "Wha…what are you…?"

The person jabbed the stun gun into Bess's arm. She let out a short scream and collapsed on the floor. She was then dragged across the room and out the window. There, a silver car was parked, and the captor opened the door before they put Bess into the back seat. After making sure that no one was watching, the kidnapper drove away from the hotel.

The three detectives arrived just when the silver car was driving away from the hotel. They had no idea that Bess was inside the car, unconscious. They parked the rented car and entered the hotel.

Frank and Joe took the suitcases out of the trunk and went to the front desk. A man with auburn hair was at the desk. He smiled when he saw the trio. "May I help you?"

"Yes," Frank said. "We got a room for one person just this afternoon. We came here to get the key."

"Boy, you are very lucky you even got a room to stay in. Because this is Christmas season, all of our rooms are usually booked or occupied. May I have the credit card, please?"

Frank handed him his credit card. After a few minutes, the clerk took a key and gave it to Frank. "Have a nice stay."

To the detectives' surprise, the room Nancy got was right across the hall from the Hardys'. But what surprised them even more was that the door of the room where Frank and Joe were staying was open.

"What in the world happened here?" Frank said. He looked at the lock. It didn't seem to be picked or was opened by force. He went inside with Joe and Nancy. It was empty and quiet. Bess was nowhere in sight.

"What could have happened to her?" Nancy said, alarmed. Her eyes went to the open window. She looked down. There was a pair of footprints leading from the window to the nearby parking lot. She bit her lips. These footprints were made less than fifteen minutes ago. Suddenly, she imagined the silver car they passed when they were entering the hotel parking lot. Maybe Bess was in that car! But that was a slight possibility. She turned to the Hardys.

"Frank! Joe! We have to call the police right away. Bess must have been kidnapped, and I have a hunch it was the same kidnapper as the one who kidnapped George!"

Joe was already dialing New York police department on the phone in the room.

"Hello? I would like to report a person missing, well, actually two."

The voice on the other line was that of a woman with husky voice. "Two? Are they gone for more than twenty-four hours?"

"No, they are not. They have been missing since today. One was gone from a theater this afternoon and the other disappeared just a few minutes ago."

The operator said sternly, "I'm sorry, but unless those persons are missing for more than twenty-four hours, we cannot declare them missing yet, unless you have a proof stating that they were held against their wills."

"Oh… okay…" Joe bit his lips.

"Because there are many teenagers who are running away from their parents or are playing some kind of prank, we just cannot simply assume that a person is kidnapped or taken away against their will. Please, we would like you to call again after waiting for a day. If those two persons don't come back, then let us know."

"All right." Joe hung up.

"See? I knew they weren't of any help!" Frank shouted in anger, throwing his arms up. Then, he noticed Nancy's expression. Her face was so pale he thought she was going to faint with shock.

Actually, she did.

Frank ran up to her and caught her just before her head hit the floor. "Nancy! We've got to put you into a bed. You have such a high fever!"

Joe helped Frank carry Nancy into her room and lay her on the bed. "She'll wake up in a few hours," Joe said. He tore a piece of paper from the notepad and scribbled a note. It read: "Nancy, call us as soon as you read this note. FH and JH."

"That'll do," he said, placing it right beside Nancy's pillow. "Now let's investigate the disappearance of George Fayne and Bess Marvin."

But before they could open the door, Nancy's cell phone that was in her purse started ringing. Frank answered the call. "Hello?"

"Frank?" It was Bailey. "I'm at home right now and Mom told me about Nancy. Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She's been working pretty hard on her investigation. I'd say too hard."

"Oh… Mom said that she had a high fever. She has a secret medicine that could cure any cold in a snap. It's her specialty chicken soup. My grandmother Juliana Higgins taught her how to make the soup that was cooked by the Higgins for centuries. I used to catch cold all the time, but most of the time I got better after I finished that delicious chicken soup."

"That's nice. I'll bet Nancy would love that. Unfortunately, she is still sleeping right now, and we have some minor problems concerning Bess and George."

"Bess and George?" Bailey asked, not understanding the meaning. "What do you mean? Are they there?"

"No," Frank said. "They are missing, and the police can't cooperate because those two haven't been gone for more than twenty-four hours. They think that those two are pulling a prank or are running away from their parents."

"That… That's pathetic!" Bailey shouted. "They'll never run away or pull a sick prank like this, worrying their friends! Something must have happened to them…"

"I know. Joe and I are both thinking the same thing, but we need a clue, a lead. We don't even know why the kidnapper—"

"—or kidnappers," Joe interfered.

"…Yeah, we don't even know if one person was responsible for the kidnappings or not. Two criminals who even don't know each other might be involved. Who knows?"

"Well, right now, Mom and I are making the chicken soup for Nancy. Where is she staying, anyway?"

Frank gave the address of the hotel and the room number. After he made sure Bailey copied them down, he said goodbye and hang up. By the time he put the cell phone into Nancy's purse, she was opening her eyes.

"Ugh…my head is pounding and I feel chilly," she said, coughing. "I heard you talking with someone. Who was it?"

Frank and Joe told Nancy what had happened after she fainted. Nancy was thrilled to hear that she was going to have a chicken soup.

At seven fifteen, the doorbell rang. Joe opened the door to find Bailey and her mother standing in front of the door holding the dinner they made especially for Nancy. Nancy's face lit up as she saw her friend come in.

"I really wish you'd get better soon," she said, putting down the bowl of chicken soup on the table right next to the bed. Frank, Joe, Bailey, and Mrs. Higgins pulled up a chair at the table and started eating with Nancy. To her delight, the soup was amazingly delicious and she was not surprised to find herself feeling a lot better after eating the soup.

"Thanks, Bailey. Thank you, Mrs. Higgins. I'm so glad I could taste something this delicious! Why, it reminds me of Hannah's cooking."

It was already eight o'clock by the time the guests went out of the room. Mrs. Higgins and Bailey both said that they were going to be waiting for news about Bess and George and went out to their car.

Nancy waved goodbye as they opened the door. Frank and Joe said that it was getting dark, so they should go back into their room.

Nancy turned off the lights and went back in her bed. Outside, she saw Bailey and her mother go into the car. Nancy yawned and closed the curtain. But before she could put her tired head onto the pillow, she saw someone standing outside, leaning against the tree and reading the papers.

The girl detective knew the person. He was in his early twenties and had light brown hair. It was frighteningly familiar to her.

She gasped. The person was the man she met in front of the theater just yesterday. His name was Kendall. Then, another chilling question came into her mind.

Was he _stalking_ me?


	10. Stranger in the Shadows

_**10**_

_**Person in the Shadows**_

Nancy got out of bed immediately. She put her coat on and went outside after making sure she had the key to her room. When she opened the glass door that led to the parking lot, she saw a black car speeding past her.

Nancy immediately recognized the driver. That person was Kendall, all right, but she didn't figure out why he had been following her. "What is he up to?" she wondered.

The girl detective tried to see the license plate of the car Kendall was driving, but another car came into the parking lot just as the black car turned around the corner, obscuring her sight.

"No!" Nancy shouted in distress. She had missed the only chance she had to see the license plate! Immediately, she went back inside and banged on the hotel room where Frank Hardy stayed.

"Nancy?" Frank asked as he saw the unexpected visitor. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. But first, I want to go after the car I just saw."

"But why…?"

"Hurry!"

Frank asked no more question. He took his jacket and ran outside with Nancy. The car the Hardys rented was parked just outside the hotel room. They went after the black car right away.

The road was filled with people and cars. There were cars of all colors and brands. Nancy searched frantically through the crowd, but there were too many black cars in sight!

Nancy sighed. "I guess he got away…"

"Now will you tell me what had happened?" Frank asked, making a smooth U-turn back to the hotel.

Nancy nodded. She told Frank what had happened last night and what had happened just a few minutes ago. After listening to the whole thing, Frank shook his head in distress.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't know this was important. I didn't even think this was important! Besides, I never met him before."

"How do you know? After all, you were solving more than three hundred mysteries ever since when you were in tenth grade," Frank said, grinning.

"Ha-ha, Frank," Nancy said sarcastically. "I'm sure you have a better memory than I do. You and Joe solved as many mysteries as, if not more than, I did. Besides, I'm more concerned about who framed Bailey, who injured my dad, and who kidnapped my two best friends. After all, they might be four separate culprits!"

Frank nodded. "I guess this is the most difficult mystery you ever faced. New York is a city filled with criminals. It's hardly like peaceful little River Heights. In fact, the most violent crime Joe and I solved involved…"

"Enough, Frank!" Nancy interrupted. "I just want to find out who Kendall was. I'm sure…"

Suddenly, something came across Nancy's thought.

"Frank! What did the coded message say?"

"The what? Oh, that…I think it said 'Sun: noon at a gas station across bay. Ken.'"

Nancy slapped her forehead. "I should have known! That 'Ken' in the message must be Kendall! He must be meeting someone at a gas station across bay at noon tomorrow!"

"But which one?" Frank asked. "There are more than a hundred gas station that are located across the bay."

Nancy bit her lower lip. "I guess we should go to each gas station and see if Kendall is there with whomever he is meeting."

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

Nancy opened her eyes. Her head was not aching anymore. Her throat was not as sore as it had been yesterday. And, the best of all, the fog that was in her head just eleven hours ago was completely gone.

Yawning, the young detective got out of her bed. It was already eight o'clock. She had been asleep ever since nine o'clock last night. After eleven hours of peaceful sleep, she felt much better and was in a good mood.

Someone was knocking on the door as Nancy got out of bed. When she answered it, she found the Hardys standing in front of the door, grinning.

"Good morning, Nancy. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, much better. You have no idea how hard my head was banging last night before I went to bed. It's so nice to get plenty of rest."

Frank changed the subject. "Anyway, I know this great restaurant that serves the best breakfast ever. Would you care to join us?"

Nancy smiled. "I'd love to!"

The three detectives got on the car and drove to the restaurant Frank mentioned. The name of the restaurant was Chez Cuisine. There were only a few people in the restaurant, so the three teenagers got their seats within minutes.

As Nancy ordered the breakfast course Frank and Joe also ordered, she saw a familiar person entering the restaurant. A tall woman with bushy auburn hair entered the premise. She sat down at the table next to the window.

That's Clarissa Pevely, Nancy noted in her mind. I'd better ask her about her alibi for yesterday before she goes away.

Nancy stood up and walked toward the table where the university student was sitting at.

"Hello, Clarissa," she said cheerfully.

The auburn-haired woman seemed startled for a minute, as if somebody had pointed a gun in her face without warning. But that look quickly disappeared as she made a forced smile and looked at Nancy. "Well, what a surprise! Did you solve the case yet?"

"I would say that I have a good idea who the culprit is." Nancy was boasting, of course. She looked at Clarissa's expression. The woman seemed unsurprised. "By the way, where were you yesterday at—?"

"Look," Clarissa interrupted. "I was at the university all day yesterday. I was doing my research paper and was in the library in the university for quite a while, if not all afternoon. Then, my friends and I had a small party at my place and stayed there until eleven. When they left at eleven at night, I went straight to my bed. And I'm supposed to meet my boyfriend in twenty minutes at the library and I still didn't finish my breakfast."

Nancy got the cue. It meant that she wanted to be left alone. She quickly smiled back. "Okay, Clarissa. Bye."

Frank and Joe were listening to the entire conversation. Frank asked Nancy when she came back, "So, how was it? What was her alibi, if she did have any?"

Nancy sat down on the chair. "I'm afraid she must be telling the truth. But mostly, her alibis were based on her university lifestyle. I'm kind of suspicious about it, though. It seems like she is always in the campus and nowhere else. I have a feeling she created her alibi on purpose."

After the breakfast, the detectives started driving to the gas stations the coded message mentioned. As they took out a map, they looked at all the gas stations that could be by the bay.

"Okay, so the closest is this one at the…" Frank started.

"But isn't there hundreds of gas stations around this area?" Joe asked. "There is Upper New York Bay, Lower New York Bay, Jamaica Bay, Oyster Bay, or…"

"…or Bayport," Nancy muttered.

"Here it is!" Joe said as he stopped the car. The three detectives were facing a large sign on the road that said: Welcome to Bayport, the City with the Warmest Welcome!

Nancy checked the map. "I think we should just go along this road and find Kendall. I have a feeling that the 'Ken' mentioned in the letter was Kendall."

"And we've got to find out who he is," Frank said. "I'm not sure what he wants with you, but I'm sure he's up to no good."

The threesome came to the first gas station they could find. It was an old gas station, with four pumps in all and a small snack shop. They couldn't find Kendall, so Nancy checked her watch. "It's noon. Kendall must be somewhere else."

The second one they saw was a newer one, with eight pumps in all and a fairly large snack shop and a coin-operated vacuum cleaner so people could use it to clean the inside of their cars. There was also a car-washing chamber, where four cars were waiting in line to be washed.

Nancy remembered that the man who she saw outside the hotel room went into a black car, probably made in recent years. However, she could not see the car anywhere near the gas station. She also did not see Kendall.

"Not here," she said, sighing.

Joe started the car again and went along the broad avenue that was going along the bay. After they drove a mile or two, they saw another gas station. This one was as small as the first one, but it was as new as the second one they saw that day. It also had a car-washing chamber.

Nancy squinted her eyes. There was a black Subaru parked near the gas station, but it certainly wasn't the one she was looking for. She also saw a black Porsche, but it wasn't the one she saw yesterday, either.

She looked at Joe and nodded. Without another word, Joe started the car again and drove forward.

By the time they reached the fourth one, it was already fifteen minutes after noon. Nancy suddenly gasped as she saw the man who was coming out of the black car that seemed strangely familiar to her. From inside, a man with brown hair and a pair of sunglasses came out and looked around as if he was looking for somebody.

"That's it!" Nancy shouted. "That's him!"

Frank and Joe nodded. They stopped the car just a few yards away from Kendall and quietly opened the doors. They got out and hid behind the bushes. Nancy joined them.

Suddenly, the cell phone Kendall had in his pocket rang. Reaching into his pocket, the brown-haired man took it out and flipped it open.

"Hello, Melvin," he said cheerily. "How is it?"

A few seconds of silence followed as the caller talked.

"I found her yesterday in the hotel downtown. Name was Colonial Hotel."

"That's the hotel we're staying in!" Nancy said to Frank and Joe in a whisper. They nodded in agreement. The three detectives kept eavesdropping on the conversation.

"…Yeah, of course! We are ready now. And don't forget to tell Lou…"

_Vroom!_

A huge truck drove by, making the detectives miss the next three seconds of the conversation.

"…Since he's the boss, go with the plan he has. I'm sure he has it all planned out… I will keep watching that girl and make sure she causes no more trouble. And if I'm right, we'll get her in less than…"

Another three seconds had passed.

"I _know_ I said that we'd get her, but come on, it's been pretty hard for me… It's okay if you can't come. After I pump in gas, I will meet you there. Tonight? Okay… seven o'clock tonight? Great. Same old GW?"

He took a notepad from his pocket and wrote in something. After he had done so, he put it away.

"Got it. Okay, see you there."

As he snapped the phone shut, the three detectives jumped out of the bushes. Kendall immediately turned around, surprised by the sudden movement.

Joe dashed for Kendall, but he was faster. With one movement, he got into his car, closed the door, and hit the gas pedal. In a flash the car went to the avenue that was filled with cars and vanished from sight.

Frank ran after the car, but when he knew it was too late, he bit his lower lip and went back inside the car.

"So… did you see the license plate?" Joe asked Nancy.

Nancy shook her head. "The license plate was too dirty. I only got the first two numbers, but I couldn't make out the rest. And there must be thousands of cars that have those two numbers. And I couldn't see where the car was from. It could be in Washington, California, Kansas, or Florida!"

Frank was the only one grinning in the car. Joe turned to Frank. "Well, got any good news?"

"I know where they are going to meet tonight," he said. "GW. They can only mean one thing: Grande Wallace Theatre!"


	11. Hide and Seek

**Note from author:** Thanks for the 25 reviews! I have the rest of the story all planned out, but it would take additional six or seven chapters to tell all. And I will guarantee you that the ending will be a surprise. I hope you'll enjoy the newest chapter, and don't forget to post a review after you read it!

_**11**_

_**Hide and Seek**_

The detectives ate lunch at the restaurant next to the gas station where they spotted Kendall. Nancy's mind was on the so-called detective.

Why is he following me? she wondered. And who is he, if he's not a detective like he said? Did he follow me when I was at the Dilworths' house.

Dilworth! Nancy had forgot about them for an entire day!

"We should go to the Dilworths' house to check if they are all right," she suggested. Frank finished his hamburger and nodded, while Joe was still ordering an apple pie for dessert. As Joe finished his dessert, the threesome exited the premises and drove straight to the Dilworths'.

Nancy was the one who knocked on the door. "Hello? Mrs. Dilworth?"

The door was opened forcefully. Mrs. Dilworth came out from inside the house. She was holding a fishing rod and a towel. It seemed like she was cleaning the fishing rod. She was surprised to see the three detectives, but she was also glad. "Why, Nancy! Have you found evidence pointing toward that rotten girl's crime?"

Nancy was immediately maddened by the woman's rudeness and her doggedness for not believing that Bailey was innocent. However, she did not show that on her face. She simply asked with a straight face: "Have you any problem concerning your other antique items in your house? Was anything else stolen?"

"Heavens, no!" the middle-aged lady said. "I have been keeping an eye out for anything that comes into our house. That vase is the only thing missing from the house."

"Is that the most prized possession you have?"

"Well, if you put price on it, it would easily be auctioned off at a price of ten thousand dollars. But I have other antiques worth twenty thousand dollars or more in the collection room located on the second floor, right beneath the room with the broken window. There are ruby rings, paintings by famous artists…"

"I see…" Nancy said. "Did you personally call the police when you found that the vase was missing?"

"Why, yes. Who else could have called the police?"

"Okay, I guess that's it. Thank you for your time."

Mrs. Dilworth did not return the farewell. Instead, she closed the door as the young sleuth finished her sentence.

"Friendly neighbor," Joe muttered sarcastically as he watched the woman's actions.

Frank sighed. "What do we do now?"

Nancy looked around to make sure nobody was watching. She then said out loud, "Well, I guess that's it for the day, you guys. Let's go home."

Frank looked at Nancy with unbelieving look. "Do you seriously mean that you are going to quit the case?" the look said.

Nancy eyed him the look that said, "Trust me. Just go along with it."

Joe caught on and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I think this case is too complicated for us. Too bad for bailey, but I think we should give up."

The three detectives went into the car and drove far enough so the Dilworths' house was out of sight. Then, Nancy stopped the car. Getting out of the driver's seat, she walked to the back of the Higgins' garage and watched as the Dilworths got out of the house.

Mrs. Dilworth looked around as if she was checking to see if anybody was watching them. Unaware that she was spied, Mrs. Dilworth got into the car after her husband. She was carrying the fishing rod.

Nancy smiled. "Come on, let's follow them!"

The three sleuths got into the car and followed the middle-aged couple in their car. The Dilworths' car turned around the corner and into the highway.

"Nobody can hide from me!" Joe said as he drove skillfully through the maze of cars. "There they are!"

Nancy saw the Dilworths' car immediately. After staying on the road for about an hour, they went into a forest preserve far away from the city. There were less and less cars now, making the Dilworths' car easier to spot. The detectives did the same.

Nancy couldn't believe how different the surroundings were. In New York City, she was surrounded by buildings after buildings, but here, they were surrounded by trees. There was no leaf on any of the trees, since it was midwinter and the air was about ten degrees below freezing point.

"So, Nancy," Frank asked Nancy after a while. "Why are we following them, exactly?"

"Because I noticed some irony in the Dilworths' statements."

"Irony?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. When she said that there were many valuable stuffs in the house, she also said that she called the police herself."

After thinking for a while, Joe shook his head. "I don't get it. What's the irony?"

"Oh, I get it now!" Frank shouted. "When someone has valuable stuffs nowadays, what would they do to keep those valuables safe?" he asked Joe.

"Uhhh… I would set up alarms around the house."

"Yeah. But these alarms that are sold these days are made so they could alert the police right away."

Joe nodded. "Oh, right! So when she said that she called police herself, that meant that she didn't have alarms set up around the house that could alarm the police right away. A person having many valuable things in her house would always set up alarms, especially when she goes on vacation."

"Exactly," Nancy said. "I think she did this because she wanted to prepare for the 'performance.' In other words, those Dilworths were the thief who stole the vase. They wanted to set up the footprints and the hook so they could fool the police and then call them, so the situation would seem more believable."

"But we don't have any proof. The police won't believe that even if we go up there and tell them that."

"That's why we're following them," Nancy said. "When I saw the fishing rod, I knew they must have a cabin somewhere, since that fishing rod seemed pretty old and used pretty often. And if I were to hide something, I would choose the cabin or lodge that I have that is located miles and miles away from my home. I believe that's where they are going. I did see her carrying the fishing rod into the car."

Frank shook his head in amazement. "You never fail to amaze me, Nancy. Your observation skills and logic is way beyond me. I couldn't even figure out the part about their having a cabin. You are a really amazing detective!"

Nancy blushed. "Thanks for the compliments, Frank. We'll need to report them to the police as soon as we find the vase in their cabin."

"I'll bet they are doing this so they could get the insurance money on the vase," Joe said in disgust, "and getting Bailey in a big trouble by making her look like she was the thief when she was just a scapegoat!"

The titian-haired detective agreed. "Look! They are parking their car next to that cabin!" She pointed to the cabin where the car was parked by.

The cabin looked fairly new. It seemed like it was there for just a few years. Nancy observed that there was a lake. What surprised Nancy was that the lake was frozen solid.

"It seems like they were not going to fish after all. They probably just brought the fishing rod to play billiards with," Joe muttered.

Quietly, the trio went to the cabin and looked inside. The curtain obscured their view, but they managed to hear the conversation.

"Do you have it?" It was Mr. Dilworth.

"Yes, brought the rod with me," said Mrs. Dilworth.

"Good. Give that to me."

A weird noise followed by. It seems like a door was opening. After a while, the door closed and the couple came out of the cabin. The detectives immediately ducked under the bushes. The Dilworths got into the car and drove off, leaving the detectives free to search the cabin.

Frank put his hand into his picket and took out a small box. "This is the picking kit to pick locks with. I mastered the art of lock-picking a long time ago."

Nancy giggled. "Now can you open the door for me?"

"I'll get it open in less than a minute," Frank said as he kneeled down and looked at the lock. "Uh… Forget what I said."

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.

"Well, apparently, this is one of those special keys that cannot be duplicated. Therefore, the keyhole is different and the usual lock-picking kit won't work."

Joe groaned. "Okay, so we just have to watch as they get away with insurance fraud?"

Nancy wasn't so easy to give up. "I'll try the windows."

She walked to the side of the cabin and looked at the windows. She picked up a stick from the ground and slid it between the windowpanes. With a tug, the window was unlocked and open in no time.

"Who says technology is the best tool?" Nancy said, smiling at Frank and Joe.

"Good thinking!" Joe said, giving her a thumb-up.

The detectives got into the house and looked around. The cabin was empty. There was a desk, a chair, a closet, and a bed. Except for those furniture, the room was completely bare.

"I see the Dilworths weren't coming here for a long time," Frank said, noticing how much dust had settled on the desk. He also saw the fishing rod on the bed. "They left this."

"I've gotten myself into many cases involving old mansions and castles," Nancy said. "I think we need to do something with this rod and open a secret passageway or a secret compartment. Let me see…"

Nancy picked up the fishing rod. It was a normal one you could buy at any store. It was not necessarily expensive, but it was made of fine materials. It was quite hard.

Then, the girl detectives looked up. There was a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. Other than that, the ceiling had nothing interesting.

Nancy thought, Wait… A lamp?

Nancy noticed a small hole right next to the lamp. She took the chair and got on it. It wobbled a little, but it stayed still after a few seconds. She reached for the ceiling but her hands couldn't touch the ceiling. Nancy got down and used the rod. After putting the rod into the hole, she pushed the rod up.

_Click!_

They all heard the noise. As they looked up, they heard the closet swing go the left, hitting the wall. It was like the bookshelf at the secret annex where Anne Frank and her family and friends were hiding in. It swung and revealed a secret entrance to the attic. This worked like that as well. They could see a secret compartment big enough to fit three people. Nancy looked into the compartment.

_Bingo!_ she thought.

There, in the compartment, was a vase one foot high and about eight inches wide.

"I knew it!" Joe said. "They were aiming to get the insurance money and then sell this vase in the black market!"

Nancy nodded. She was about to take the vase, but stopped. "No, we can't take this. We didn't even have a search warrant when we looked inside this cabin. First, we have to get to the police station and explain to them what happened and try to get a search warrant. But we better move fast. I have the feeling that…"

Nancy's feeling was right. The detectives all stopped as they heard the car park nearby. Then, the key turned. The Dilworths were back!

Nancy's eyes went to the window. No, if they go out, the Dilworths would surely see them. But then, there was no other way out.

Frank, Joe, and Nancy all froze in the middle of the room. They were trapped!


	12. Trick and Treat

**NOTE FROM AUTHOR: **Wow! There are 30 reviews already? I didn't know how many people would like this story, but I'm very glad to see so many readers enjoying it. This mystery is coming to a climax in less than four chapters. Now the pace will be a little quicker, since I think I've been dragging the story on for too long. Enjoy the latest update!

_**12**_

_**Trick and Treat**_

The Dilworths entered the cabin. Mrs. Dilworth looked around. Then, she picked up the fishing rod from the floor.

"I have the fishing rod, John," she said, showing her husband the fishing rod. "Hm?" The middle-aged lady turned around. "I could swear I heard something inside this cabin when I turned the lock."

Nancy felt herself gasping quietly. Don't find us! she pleaded silently. Whatever you do, don't—!

"Probably a squirrel climbing up a tree or something," John Dilworth said bluntly. "Now we'd better get back. I need to attend a meeting in two hours."

"Oh, sure, sure. I'll get the car started."

The couple exited the cabin through the door they came in from. As the door closed, Nancy let out the breath she was holding for a long minute. The detectives grinned, then got out of their hiding spot.

Where were they hiding?

"We have to hide somewhere," Nancy had said, looking around desperately. It was just a few minutes ago, when the three sleuths were in the cabin, the key turned slowly.

"I know!" Frank had whispered, opening the secret compartment using the fishing rod. "We can hide here."

The compartment was barely big enough to fit three people. The detectives did not hesitate. They slipped into the compartment and closed the door. Nancy, fearing that the compartment would not open from the inside, left a small space between the closet and the door.

"Now we can take this vase to the police. Those couple would have no logical explanation except for their stealing the vase so they can get the insurance money!" Joe said excitedly.

"No, Joe," Frank said.

Nancy agreed. "We can't do that. We searched the cabin without having a search warrant. Any evidence we gathered cannot be counted against them unless we have a search warrant first."

"But how can we prove it?"

Frank was thinking about it. "I think we can make them confess," he finally said.

"Confess?"

Nancy and Joe both said it out loud. They couldn't believe it. How would Frank make two criminals confess?

"I know that look!" Frank said, rolling his eyes. "You are probably wondering what am I thinking. Well, my plan is to make them confess, but not forcing them to do so. We can trick them to do it!"

Nancy looked confused. "Trick them?"

"Yeah. We can record their confession on tape. That can be counted as a ticket to getting a search warrant in the police department."

"But…" Joe interrupted. "How do we do that?"

Getting into the car, Frank motioned Joe and Nancy to come in. "We'll go to their house. Does anyone have a tape recorder?"

"I do!" Nancy said. "It's in the Higgins' house. I brought it to listen to some of my favorite tapes."

"Great! Let's go."

The dark-haired detective started the car immediately. During the long drive, the detectives talked about the four mysteries.

"Do you think it was they who sabotaged the theater, knocked out my dad, and kidnapped Bess and George?" Nancy asked the Hardys.

"I don't think they did it," Frank said, his eyes fixed on the road. "Even if they were involved in a fraud, I don't think they were involved in a sabotage or kidnapping. Besides…"

"…George could have knocked them down easily!" Joe interrupted. "She knows karate, right, Nancy?"

Nancy nodded. "I think she had a brown belt. But I'm not so sure about Bess. I don't think she took any martial arts class."

"Anyway," Joe said, getting back on the topic, "if they were the kidnapper, then they must have hidden Bess and George in the cabin, along with that vase. But the cabin was empty. That explains that they did not kidnap them, unless there were other secret compartment in that cabin."

"But," Nancy said, "what about their mansion? They could have a few knick-knacks in their mansion."

"Not possible," Frank mentioned, shaking his head. "If there was a hidden passageway in there, the police would have surely found it when they went and investigated the couple's house."

"Then that leaves only one thing," Joe said. "They didn't kidnap Bess and George, hit Mr. Drew on the head, or sabotaged the theater."

"How do you know that?" Nancy was again perplexed.

Frank was the one who answered. "If they didn't kidnap George, then they didn't know that there was a secret passageway in the pillar. If they didn't know about the pillar, then they couldn't have sabotaged the stage. And if they didn't sabotaged the stage…"

"…Then they didn't hit Mr. Drew on the head," Joe said, ending Frank's string of logic. "But then, who did?"

"My bet's on the guy who calls himself Kendall," Frank said. "I have a feeling he's involved in this somehow. I just don't think he is your ordinary fan, Nancy."

Nancy frowned. "He sure is creepy! I have no idea who he is. I never met him before."

"But you've solved nearly sixty mysteries!" Joe said. "How can you remember all of the suspects?"

"Oh, and I suppose you do?" Nancy asked back.

"Uh…well…I do remember some of those cute girls I met…"

Frank laughed out loud. "You'd better stop there, Joe, or I'll tell Iola."

"Hey! You can't do that! You know she get really mad when I mention the words 'cute girls'!"

Nancy sighed. "Hey, you guys, there is the exit sign."

"The what!" Frank turned around to see it, but it was too late. They already passed the exit to New York City. "Darn! I have to go to the next exit and turn around. Thanks a lot, Joe!"

"What? You can't blame me! You are the driver!"

"Guys!" Nancy interrupted. "Stop being so childish."

The detectives arrived at Higgins' house at exactly two o'clock. Nancy went to the porch and knocked on the door. "Hello?" she called. A few seconds later, a middle-aged woman with dark hair appeared from inside the kitchen. It was Mrs. Higgins.

"Hello, Nancy. How is the investigation coming along?"

"Great, Mrs. Higgins. I just need to get something from my room."

"Okay, dear. I'll be in the kitchen baking pie if you need me."

Nancy hurried to her room. She took the tape recorder from her suitcase and turned it on. "Hello? Hello? Testing-testing."

Nancy then rewound it and played it. Her voice she heard sounded fine. "Okay, it's working." After putting the tape recorder into her pocket, she dashed to the car, where the Hardys were waiting patiently.

Frank knocked on the door of the Dilworths' house. Just as he did so, Nancy turned her tape recorder on. About thirty seconds later, a man appeared from inside and opened the door. He had a puzzled look on his face. "You are…the detectives?" he asked.

Joe smiled and nodded. "We came here to talk to you about the stolen vase."

An awkward look appeared on Mr. Dilworth's skinny face for one moment. In a second, it was gone. He smiled a forced smile. "Well, did you find who stole our vase?"

"Yes," Frank answered. "And we also found the vase."

Joe entered the room. "Here it is, the precious vase! The only one in the world!"

Nancy looked at him. She was for a moment startled. Joe wasn't supposed to take the vase, and she doesn't remember his bringing in the vase. He carried into the room a vase wrapped in towel.

The Dilworths' expression changed in a second. Mrs. Dilworth was sputtering, "Where…? Where…?"

Frank grinned. "You know where we found it."

"But…how? How did you find it? We were sure we hid it in a place nobody would notice!" Mrs. Dilworth sputtered.

Nancy stopped the tape recorder and smiled. "That's all the evidence we need."

"Evidence?" The Dilworths' voices showed their surprise. They finally realized that this was just a trap.

"That's right. We were tricking you to confess to your crimes," Frank said. "And we got the tape of your confession right here. Now we have the evidence to get a search warrant."

"Search warrant? But didn't you already search our cabin?"

"Nope." Joe took the towel off the vase he was holding. When the others saw the vase they immediately knew that it wasn't the Vase of Norma. It was a vase that had the same shape as the stolen vase. "This is the vase I found in the house next to the front door. I took the flowers that were in it and put them into another vase. Then, I took this towel I had and covered it. As you can see, this vase looks like the stolen vase when its patterns aren't present."

Mrs. Dilworth sank down on the sofa behind her. Mr. Dilworth just stood there with a menacing look on his face. It also showed defeat.

"Why did you pretend that your vase was stolen?" Nancy asked.

"Why did we bother?" Mrs. Dilworth sneered. "You want to know why we even bothered to do this? Do you think we enjoyed this? Do you think we wanted the girl who didn't have anything to do with this to suffer? Do you think we wanted her to be caught?"

"We didn't have enough money, that's what!" Mr. Dilworth said, interrupting his wife. He seemed infuriated. "My business got into turmoil and I have tons of debt! The stocks I had didn't even pay a tenth of my debt!"

"We had to do something to get out," Mrs. Dilworth said. "We had to do something to pay off the two million dollars of debt."

"Then why didn't you sell the other jewels?" Nancy asked.

"We already did!" Mr. Dilworth said in anger. "All the jewelry you see upstairs is fake! They have been sold but they were not enough. This vase is the last one."

Frank then asked. "But did you kidnap Bess and George? Bess has blonde hair and George is a brunette."

"What?" The Dilworths looked at each other. "They were kidnapped? We didn't kidnap them, honestly! We just wanted some money to pay off the debt, but we don't intend on kidnapping them."

Joe grinned. "Now that they confessed, I think we should call the police."

Mr. Dilworth snarled. "Not if I can help it!"

The detectives looked at him, but he already ran to the fireplace and grabbed an iron rod that leaned against the fireplace.

"My plan wasn't to go to jail!"

Mrs. Dilworth shrieked. "What are you doing, John? We weren't supposed to kill anybody! Let's just go before—"

Mr. Dilworth did not listen. "I'm pretty experienced with throwing a spear when I was your age." A strange sneer came across his face. "Now you'll regret ever making me angry!"

Frank and Joe dashed toward the man as fast as they could. But with that sentence, he threw the iron rod that was still red with heat straight at Joe, who was less than two yards away!


	13. Nancy's Day Off

**_NOTE FROM AUTHOR: _I can't believe how many reviews I'm getting! After this thrilling chapter, there will be only three more chapters till the end of the story. I'm sorry for not updating my story last week, so this is another update. And also, I'm going to write another ND&HB mystery after this, so be sure to check even after this mystery concludes!  
**

_**13**_

_**Nancy's Day Off**_

"I'm only two yards away from that maniac!" Joe thought. "Oh, no! There's no time to duck! I won't be able to avoid it!"

Joe shut his eyes as John Dilworth held the rod high up his head, ready to throw it.

Nancy wasted no time. She immediately took the picture frame that hung from the wall and threw it as hard as she could at Mr. Dilworth. It hit the attacker's leg, making him scream in pain. He let go of the rod and it flew past Joe with a "Whoosh!" and hit the lamp, resulting in breaking it in half. As Joe looked up, Mr. Dilworth grabbed another rod and threw it at Nancy.

"Nancy!" Frank shouted as he immediately jumped up and grabbed the lamp. He dashed toward the stunned blonde detective as the angry man threw the second iron rod straight at her. It would have gone through Nancy's chest if Frank hadn't blocked the rod with the broken lamp. The broken piece shattered into many tiny bits and fell on the floor.

Nancy gasped as she saw the attacker run away through the back door. "He's getting away!"

"Get him!" Joe shouted as the Hardys ran after the middle-aged culprit.

Mr. Dilworth ran faster than the two detectives ever imagined he could. But, fortunately, the Hardys were faster. In less than a minute, they caught up with him and brought him down on the ground.

"Curses! Curses!" John Dilworth shouted as he was held down on the ground. Nancy and Mrs. Dilworth ran to the detectives with worried looks on their faces.

"Well, this ought to give you a longer sentence in jail!" Joe said, still holding down the crazed culprit. "Nancy, call the police!"

Nancy nodded and ran back inside. As the Hardys waited, Mrs. Dilworth started to sob. "I knew doing this was a bad idea," she said, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "I should've talked you out of it, John…"

Mr. Dilworth just grunted and made no attempt to get up. Finally, Nancy came back and told them that the police would be here in less than five minutes.

When the police took Mr. and Mrs. Dilworth away, Frank, Joe, and Nancy looked at the clock in the living room. "It's already three-thirty?" Frank said, amazed. "Talk about time flying by when you have fun."

"Or when you do some detective work," Nancy added. "Oh! I almost forgot! Now it's a whole day after Bess and George were kidnapped. I think we should file missing persons' reports for them."

Frank and Joe nodded in agreement. "Okay," Frank said, "Joe and I will go to the police station with the Dilworths and tell the police all about the vase and the attack. Meanwhile you can go have some fun out there. After all, we are finally in New York City and have nothing to do for now."

Nancy's face lit up. "Really? That's great! I'd love to go shopping and sightseeing." But then she looked at Frank and Joe with a worried look. "Are you sure you want _me _to have fun by myself? What about you guys? Don't you want to go out there and enjoy the time?"

Joe shook his head stubbornly. "No, no, no, no. We've been out here more times than you have. You live in River Heights and we live in Bayport. They are two totally different places, and Bayport is less than thirty minutes away from New York City. To be honest," he looked at Frank, "Frank and I are getting tired of this place, anyway."

"Okay." Nancy shrugged. "If you want me to have fun, then I will. But don't forget to go to the Grande Wallace Theatre tonight at seven. That's when Kendall and his buddies will be there. And I have a few questions I have been saving for him."

Frank turned serious. "Yeah. But be careful. If he is really stalking you, then don't stay by yourself. Staying by yourself in an alley behind a building is not a really smart thing to do when you are being followed by a guy you don't even trust."

Joe nodded and added, "And I think it's a good thing to go shopping with Bailey. I heard that she was going to take the afternoon off today."

Nancy was puzzled. "How do you know?"

"I called her last night. She would be glad to spend time with you, especially when you proved her innocence."

"Otherwise, she could have ended up in jail," the older Hardy said. "Anyway, we have to go. Enjoy your break."

The blond and dark-haired detectives ran down the stairs leading from the porch to the police car. They spent a minute talking to the officer about Nancy's refusal to go with them. As the officer nodded, the Hardys went into the car and they left the premise. Nancy got into her convertible and drove to the house next door.

She knocked on the door, but nobody was at home. "Where could she be?" Nancy wondered out loud. She knocked on the door again, but the house was completely empty. Mrs. Higgins's car was gone, so the young detective thought that she was going shopping.

Her cell phone rang just as she was about to get into her car. "Hello?" she answered.

"Nancy? Hi, this is Bailey."

"Bailey! Where are you right now? Frank, Joe, and I finally proved your innocence. The Dilworths were guilty after all."

"The Dilworths? You must be joking!" Bailey's voice expressed her surprise. "But why would they steal their own vase?"

"That's because they were in debt and needed money really badly. They wanted the insurance money and the money they could get from selling the vase in the black market to pay off the debt."

"Wow…"

There was a short pause. Nancy then told her friend, "So, I'm officially on a vacation. I plan to go shopping this afternoon. Would you like to join me?"

"I would love to!" Bailey said happily. "But my car broke down."

"Oh… But, don't worry. I'll pick you up. Where are you?"

"At 'Carl's Car Fix'. It's at the intersection of Monroe and Galway. You know where it is, don't you?"

Nancy quickly opened up the map she had in the car and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there. I think it will take about…ten minutes from your home."

"Great! I'll be waiting then."

The eighteen-year-old redheaded sleuth turned the radio on as she drove down the street to where Bailey was waiting. She tuned to the music channel and listened to the soothing jazz music that flowed out of the speaker and throughout the car.

Listening to the music made the time fly by even faster. Nancy was so relaxed she almost missed the "Carl's Car Fix" sign on top of the two-story high building. She saw the redheaded friend of hers standing by the bus stop near the building's entrance.

"Nancy!" she called as she waved her hand to get Nancy's attention. She got in as Nancy stopped her convertible next to the bus stop.

"I'm so excited to go shopping with you, Nancy. I haven't gone shopping in weeks because of my tight schedule," the eighteen-year-old girl said in an excited tone. "I know this magnificent store that sells beautiful jewelry at a reasonable price. Would you like to join me?"

"Certainly!" Nancy said as she started the car one more time. When they got to the store, she was amazed at how beautifully the inside was decorated. There was a chandelier at the center of the store and in the display vases were many amazing necklaces, rings, and earrings she had ever seen.

Bailey and Nancy shopped for about twenty minutes. Bailey chose a ring with blue stone in it. The price was surely affordable, yet the ring was beautifully designed.

Nancy, on the other hand, chose a necklace. The lace was silver and shiny, and the small red stone made it look attractive. There were four small oval rings surrounding the red stone, each made of pure gold, as the store clerk had said. Each oval ring was half an inch long and a fourth of an inch wide. The stone was circular and its diameter was nearly half an inch. Its price was, to Nancy's surprise and delight, only thirty dollars.

As they continued looking at the jewelry, they noticed a couple talking about some of the jewelry. They looked familiar to Nancy, and in an instant, she recognized them as Clarissa Pevely and Ian Kolinsky.

"Hey, how about this one?" Clarissa asked Ian. "I think it's beautiful and will match my dress I'll be wearing to the party on campus."

"No, it's too bland. I'm sure you can pick a better design than that!" Ian said.

Clarissa seemed upset. "Now that's the fifth one you rejected. What are you going to give me as my birthday present, then? It was your idea to buy me something for the dance."

Bailey noticed them too and looked at Nancy with a confused look that asked, "Why are you eavesdropping on their conversation?"

Nancy immediately went to the couple and said, "Hello, Ian, Clarissa."

Clarissa seemed surprised to hear the voice. "Nancy?" she muttered. "What are you doing in here?"

"To shop." Nancy grinned friendly, even though the woman did not smile back. "And one more thing, I need to check the alibis from the two of you. Where were you yesterday at around two o'clock?"

Clarissa rolled her eyes. "Will you please quit doing this, Miss Detective? I don't have to tell you every second of my private life, you know."

"I was at the library studying for the test," Ian said, interrupting his girlfriend. "I was there from one o'clock to five o'clock. You can ask the librarians about this and they will know. I had to pay for the fines I got from overdue library books." He then grinned embarrassedly. "Anyway, they always keep records of those things. I think I returned the books at two o'clock."

Nancy thought, If he did return the books at two o'clock, then it would be impossible to kidnap George. Then, he must be telling the truth.

"Well, I was at Royal Café," Clarissa said. "I was typing up my papers there. The waitress will know. I was there from noon to three in the afternoon. I got out at three. They will know, since they keep records of the time each customer leaves. I go there pretty often, and I think the girl at the cash register can identify me. _Now_ may we go on with the shopping?" She looked at Ian, who nodded awkwardly, looking at Bailey for a brief moment.

Bailey didn't smile at her ex-boyfriend. Instead, she tugged on Nancy's arm and said, "Come on, Nance. We should go and leave these two alone."

Nancy agreed and the two left, leaving the two college freshmen behind. Once outside, Bailey looked at Nancy with a puzzled look. "Why are you checking their alibis? Isn't the case solved yet?"

Nancy shook her head. She then told Bailey all about the abductions of her two closest friends. Bailey listened with a horrified look on her face. "Then, the Dilworths aren't the kidnappers?"

The redheaded detective shook her head. "At least, they say that they aren't the kidnappers, but I'm not sure. I'll give them the benefit of a doubt for now. Anyway, they aren't even supposed to know about the Grande Wallace Theatre!"

Bailey was puzzled. "That's weird. Why didn't you tell my mom and me about this before?"

"Because I didn't want to alarm you two too much. After all, you were worrying about the theft and all other things. I just didn't want you to get any more worried."

Bailey sighed. "Well, I think the best thing to do is go to the theater today at seven. I'm pretty sure that Kendall guy you are talking about has something to do with it. What does he look like?"

"Well, he's about six feet tall, has brown hair, and has a gray overcoat most of the time. I'm pretty sure he is stalking—"

Nancy stopped her sentence. She suddenly felt a chill, as if someone was watching her. She felt as if someone was _glaring_ at her!

She looked at Bailey, who had a stunned look on her face. "What's the matter, Nancy?" she asked.

The redheaded girl detective looked around. Her eyes got bigger with shock when she saw the man in overcoat standing at the bus stop. He was about six feet tall. He had brown hair. And he had a gray overcoat that covered most of his body.

He was Kendall. He just stood there, not even looking at Nancy, but she was sure he was. When a bus arrived, he went inside without saying a word. But at that moment, the coat opened up a little and the girl saw what he was carrying inside.

He was carrying a gun.

**_ADDITIONAL NOTE FROM AUTHOR: _And this chapter will end in another cliffhanger! In the next chapter, the detectives will finally go to the Grande Wallace Theatre to meet Kendall and his friends. But why was Mr. Drew knocked down? Why were Bess and George kidnapped? Is Kendall the kidnapper and the attacker? Why did Kendall stalk Nancy? Will they bring the villain(s) to justice? All these questions (and more) will be answered in the next three chapters, so don't miss them!**

**P.S. Don't forget to review this chapter after you finish reading it. My goal is to receive 40 reviews by the time I conclude the story, so keep reviewing! ****:-)**


	14. Sorrowful Past

_**Important Foreword: **_**Thank you for the 36 reviews. But after you read this chapter, I would like you to read _The Secret of the Old Clock_, Nancy's first mystery. I would like it to be original non-revised edition (which has 210 pages/ 25 chapters). The reason is that this story has a connection with the first mystery Nancy solved. If you already know what the book was about, then please wait for the next chapter, and don't forget to submit a review after you read this! In this chapter, you will finally know who the culprit is, but more questions will be answered in next chapter. Enjoy!**

_**14**_

_**Sorrowful Past**_

"It's nothing," Nancy said. She managed to smile as Bailey looked at her with a worried look. "I just felt a little dizzy, that's all."

But to herself she thought: "Kendall has a gun. That means he is obviously not a normal detective like he said before. But then, who is he really? I shouldn't tell Bailey about any of this yet."

Bailey looked at the watch. "It's not too late to keep shopping. I know this fantastic place where brand clothing is on sale. Do you want to join me?"

Nancy grinned. "Do I ever! Let's go."

The two girls got into the car and drove off. Nancy still kept an eye on the bus. She noticed that it was going the other way. It turned around the corner and disappeared out of her sight.

"Okay, we finished filling out their descriptions and names, along with the time they disappeared and the place they disappeared from, officer," Joe said, handing in the pieces of paper given to them by the police officer at the police station. They arrived there ten minutes ago and were asked to fill out the form with Bess and George's physical descriptions, age, gender, the time they were assumed missing, and the place they allegedly disappeared.

The officer looked at it for a brief moment and nodded. "Okay, we will tell you when we have any news." He then looked at the boys. "Meanwhile, can you tell us what happened back there at the Dilworths' estate?"

Frank and Joe told everything they saw and did. After that, they asked if the tape they had was enough of an evidence to get a search warrant.

"I guess it is. I will file a search warrant right now and then you can guide us to the cabin where you found the vase that was allegedly stolen."

Frank grinned. "Okay, officer. We will be waiting right here."

Nancy got out of the car after Bailey. They two girls stepped into the store. It was very warm inside and the girl detective immediately liked the place. The name of the place was "New Fashion, New Style" and had many unique and interesting clothing at a discount.

The shopping was fun, but watching the nightscape of New York was much better. The lights illuminated the Statue of Liberty and made it look glorious. Nancy saw many pictures of the statue, but she had no idea it was this beautiful at night. It reflected off the surface of the water and the image wavered.

The two girls decided to eat dinner at the restaurant where they could see the statue. They chose a small restaurant that didn't have as much people as the others.

Even though there weren't many people in the restaurant, the food there was great. Nancy ordered a plate of Caesar salad and another plate with pasta. Poured onto the pasta was the restaurant's specialty sauce made with special spice and tomato. Nancy couldn't believe how delicious it was.

"This restaurant has been here for decades, and my dad brought me here when I was little. It was the best restaurant around here at that time. But when a bigger restaurant opened up just a block away, customers stopped coming here," said Bailey.

Nancy nodded.

"But I still think this is the best there is. The cook was trained in Italy to make the finest cuisines. His pasta is amazing. Can you believe that he makes everything? He makes his own pasta, sauce, salad, soup, and even desserts!"

"Desserts!" Nancy was impressed. "Speaking of desserts, I want one."

Bailey looked at the menu. "What would you like, Nance?"

"Hmm… What do you recommend?"

Not even taking a look at the menu, the redheaded girl grinned. "I know one that's not on the menu."

With those words, she turned to the waiter and said, "Two crème magnifiques, please!"

The waiter showed a slightly surprised face, but then he grinned and nodded. "Two crème magnifiques coming right up!"

Nancy was puzzled. "What's crème magnifique?"

Bailey giggled. "It's the specialty dessert, but it's a hidden delight. My dad ordered one for me and it was great! It's a… Well, you'll know when it comes. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

About five minutes later, the waiter came back with two bowls. Each bowl carried a square cake with some cream on it. Atop the cream was a small parsley placed there as a decoration.

"Wow!" Nancy was amazed at how delicious it was. The cake was soft and warm, and the cream seemed to melt on her tongue.

Bailey ate it in three bites, unlike Nancy, who was enjoying every bite.

"This is the best dessert I've ever tasted!" Nancy exclaimed, delighted. Then, she looked at Bailey with a quizzical look. "Bailey, your father seemed to know a lot about this place!"

"He used to work here as the cook's assistant. He loved to work here and frequently introduced me to the cook who worked with him. He's retired now, but the great taste is still here."

"Your dad is wonderful. I'm curious… Why don't you live with him anymore?"

When she spoke those words, Nancy was immediately embarrassed. How could she go into people's privacy like that!

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" Nancy immediately added, but Bailey sadly shook her head.

"It's okay, Nancy," said she. There was a sad look in her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about this for a long time."

She looked out at the Statue of Liberty and sighed. "My dad died."

"Really?" Nancy said, astonished.

"Uh-huh. He died because of an illness. Our family didn't have enough money to send him to hospital. You know how expensive it is."

Nancy nodded solemnly. She suddenly regretted asking the question.

"Well, Dad died in his sleep. Mom had to start working and so did I. Mom is really very distressed about his death two years ago."

Nancy couldn't think of anything to say. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I know how hard it is to lose your parent. I lost my mom when I was very young. I know how you feel."

Bailey managed a smile. "Well, aren't you going to finish your dessert? I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay?"

The girl detective nodded, and the girls kept eating silently.

After the pleasant dinner, the girls were surprised to find that it was already six o'clock. Nancy and Bailey hurriedly went into their car and drove to Bailey's home.

"Oh, don't go there yet!" Bailey suddenly shouted. "I have to get my car. I'm sure it's fixed by now."

Nancy drove to "Carl's Car Fix" and dropped off Bailey there. She handed Bailey shopping bags filled with clothing she bought. Bailey thanked her for the ride and went into the store.

"Now, I have to go to the Grande Wallace Theatre. It's almost six-thirty!"

Nancy started the car again and headed straight to the theater. There, she saw Frank and Joe's car. She quickly got out and silently closed the door. "Guys!" she called in a whisper. "Guys!"

Frank and Joe came out of the car. "Hey, Nancy!" Frank said. "Kendall and his buddies aren't here yet. I'm sure they will be here any minute now…"

"So how was it?"

"How was what?"

Nancy sighed. "How was the investigation, of course?"

"Oh, well…"

"Let's just say the police isn't going to be of any help here," Joe said. "They said they are going to let us know when they find out anything new about Bess and George. As for the Dilworths, they are going to be safely behind bars, especially that maniacal John Dilworth. He almost killed you and me!"

Nancy chuckled. "You should thank me for saving your life and I should thank Frank for saving mine."

As the detectives waited, they decided that they should enter the theater and hide backstage. "That way, we can listen to their conversation," Frank said.

Nancy and Joe agreed that it was a good idea. The three detectives went inside using the key they had and crept silently through the darkness into the backstage. It was colder than they hoped, making Nancy's teeth clatter.

"I can't believe that it's already December, yet there's no snow here in New York!" Nancy complained. "Well, I guess that makes our investigation easier."

The theater was even creepier at night. There was no light turned on (and the detectives didn't even bother, since it could alert the suspects who were about to meet there), so the detectives took out their flashlights.

Turned the flashlight on, Nancy heard the car door slam shut outside. "It's them!" she alerted. "We'd better hide."

The door was opened the moment they hid behind a pile of wooden boxes. Nancy wondered, "How can they enter the theater? The only other key is owned by Mr. Saraland!"

Then, a horrifying thought came to her mind. "Oh, no! They must have attacked Mr. Saraland and took his key to the theater! But why? Why did they do this? What is interesting about this old theater?"

Footsteps followed the noise of car door slamming. Nancy noticed that there weren't just one or two people. There were at least five of them!

Joe had the same expression of fear in his eyes as Nancy. "What should we do? We are outnumbered!"

Frank looked at the door leading from the hallway to the backstage. "I don't know. But we should listen to what they are talking about. I hear a voice…"

"Okay, so we should search this area for anything we can find that may be helpful to us," one voice said.

"They are searching for something, all right," Frank said. "But what is it?"

Nancy tried to listen to what they were talking about, but a truck drove by and erased the voices. When the noise was over, Nancy heard the door to the backstage open.

"Let's see…" said one of the men.

Frank, Joe, and Nancy backed up from the pile of boxes and headed toward the exit, but Frank's foot stepped on a rope and tripped. As he tripped, he crashed into the ladder that was leaning against the wall just a few feet away from him.

Crash!

The ladder crashed to the floor, and that took the men's attention.

"Who's there?" one of them shouted. Nancy was frightened to hear that the voice belonged to Kendall.

The three detectives dashed toward the exit, but it was locked shut.

"We have to go to the stage!" Frank yelled.

Nancy got up, but she was immediately held back.

What? Nancy thought.

Frank and Joe ran toward the stage. The men ran after them.

Nancy tried to get up, but someone was holding her hand and held her back.

"Frank! Joe! Hel—"

Nancy tried to yell for help, but a hand covered her mouth.

But, how did the person get in? Nancy thought. But I have to get away!

As she struggled, she heard something creak open. It was a secret passageway! The door opened and led to a passageway nobody else knew. Nancy tried desperately to break free, but the person's grip was too strong. In less than a minute, the attacker flung her into the passageway.

Nancy tried to get up, but when she lifted her head up, she felt something hard hit the back of her head.

"Unh!" The girl detective let out a groan. She turned on the flashlight and lit it at the attacker's face to see who it was.

"What?"

Nancy was astounded to find out the identity of the mysterious attacker.

"But…why…"

She got another blow on her head, and she let out another groan and fainted. But before she fainted, she let out three words:

"But, why, Bailey…?"


	15. Friendship of Deception

_**Foreword: **_**I bet many of you were surprised when you read the last word in the previous chapter! In this chapter, most of the questions you had in mind will be answered, and I hope you already read _The Secret of the Old Clock. _This chapter explains why Bailey, who was the only one Nancy could trust in New York, actually turned out to be the kidnapper! Behind the crimes she committed, there was also a very sad past, and the unfortunate event forced Bailey to turn against her friend. I hope you will enjoy the climax, and please review after you read! My goal is to have fifty reviews by the time I finish this story.

* * *

**

_**15**_

_**  
Friendship of Deception**_

"Nan…cy…Nancy…Nancy!"

Nancy opened her eyes. Bess was right in front of her, looking at her with a worried look.

"Wha…Where am I?"

Nancy tried to get up, but she immediately felt the pain in her wrists and her ankles. Startled, she looked down, and sure enough, her hands and feet were tied tightly with a strong rope.

The girl detective looked around. It was a small, dark room. She was kept in the room with Bess. But she then saw George tied as well sitting next to her. "Glad to see you here, Nance!" she said cheerily.

"Bess! George! Why are you here?" asked Nancy. Then, her head ached so badly she groaned. "Oh, I remember."

Nancy remembered the face she saw when she lit the flashlight at the attacker's face. The face haunted her memory. It was familiar. Of course it was familiar. It was the face of the person who she thought she could trust. The face belonged to the only person she thought she could trust in the whole city of New York. The face…

"It was Bailey, wasn't it?" Nancy asked sadly.

Bess and George looked at each other with worried looks. "I'm sorry about this, Nancy," George said. "I should have been more careful."

"Tell me, how were you two kidnapped?" asked the redheaded girl of the trio.

George sighed. "I was investigating the theater when I found this set of footprints. When I followed the footprints, I came to this pillar. This pillar was actually a secret door leading to this small room. Bailey then opened the door from inside and dragged me into it."

Then, Bess explained, "I was waiting for you, Frank, and Joe to come back after they took you to the hospital when you fainted. I waited there for a few minutes, then the doorbell rang. I answered it, and Bailey was standing there with a stun gun, and…"

Bess began to sob. "Oh, cheer up," George said, trying to sound cheerful. "I heard everything from Bess. Are you okay, Nancy? She said you fainted."

Nancy grinned embarrassedly. "The doctor said that I needed to take some rest. He said that I was working too hard on the case."

"Don't you always?" chuckled George. "Anyway, we have to find a way out of here."

"But tell me," Nancy asked again. "Where is this place?"

"It's the hidden room beneath the theater. They built it hundreds of years ago so they could store food and wine, just in case of a catastrophe."

Nancy looked up with surprise. The voice belonged to Bailey. The girl was standing there with a wicked grin.

The girl detective shivered. It was not the grin she saw on her friend's face before. It was not the grin she was used to seeing. It was the evil, wicked grin a crazed culprit would have.

"And I finally have you where I wanted," Bailey said. Her voice was now as sinister as her expression. "Welcome, Nancy. Welcome to the club." She then chuckled.

"Bailey!" Nancy finally shouted. "I thought you were our friend! I thought you needed our help to prove you innocent! I trusted you! I thought of you as my close friend!"

Bailey's grin disappeared and her expression hardened. It seemed that her face was hardened with hatred.

"I don't want to even consider you my friend, Nancy. If you considered me a friend, you would never have done that."

"Done what?"

"Oh, you know very well, Nancy Drew. What happened two years ago?"

"Well, many things," interrupted Bess. "Nancy is a famous detective. She solved many cases from the time she was sixteen. She brought villains to justice, and I can't remember even a single time when she was doing anything bad to you or anybody I know of!"

George joined her cousin. "Yeah! Nancy is the kindest friend I know! She would never lie to anyone or hurt anyone. All she did was to bring happiness and justice to the places where she went."

Bailey suddenly broke out laughing. Her laughter filled the small room and Nancy was suddenly afraid of her. Now, she was not a friend anymore. Now, she was just like John Dilworth: dangerous and insane.

"You have two loyal friends, Nancy," Bailey said, still laughing. "And all you did was to bring happiness and justice? You have to be kidding!"

She took out a locket she had and opened it up. In the dim light, Nancy couldn't see whose photograph it contained. As Bailey continued looking at it, tears started coming out of her eyes. The tears weren't the tears of sorrow. They were tears of fury and hatred.

"But you are wrong, Bess and George! My father didn't just leave us; he died! And do you know who killed him? None other than Nancy Drew!"

* * *

Frank and Joe ran from the backstage to the main stage and dashed for the exit. As they jumped off the stage, the men running toward them took out guns and shouted, "Put your hands in the air! This is the police! Stop running right now or we'll shoot!" 

"Huh?"

Frank and Joe stopped abruptly. Police? What were _they_ doing here?

"Wait," Joe said as he turned toward the men with guns. "You are the police? Not some gangsters?"

One of the men laughed. It was Kendall. "So it was you all along!" he said. "Okay, men. These two aren't the culprits we're looking for!"

The plainclothesmen put their gun away immediately. Kendall walked toward the boys, who were startled when they heard that they were policemen.

"I'm sorry for surprising you two. I know very well that you are the sons of Fenton Hardy. I'm Kendall Hawkins, a police investigator. I'm on a case about the sabotaged theater and the theft of a rare vase. I believe you two know quite a lot about these two mysteries."

"Sure we do. We were the ones who caught the culprit who stole the vase," Frank said. "But why did you keep stalking Nancy?"

Kendall laughed out loud again. "No, I wasn't stalking _her_. I was following Bailey Higgins."

"Bailey?" The Hardys were surprised. "But… Why did you do that?"

"Well, she _was _a suspect, and I had to find out if she really was the thief or not. It seems like she visited Nancy quite a lot and stayed with her for a long time, so I ended up following the redheaded detective as well."

Frank and Joe nodded understandingly.

"And we were so sure Miss Higgins was the culprit and were trying our hardest to find any evidence against her. But just this afternoon, I got the news that the culprits for the theft were captured, so I ended up investigating my old case: the vandalism at the Grande Wallace Theatre."

"Then," Frank asked, "why didn't you tell us about this before when we cracked your code and followed you to the gas station at Bayport? You just ran away from us. If only you could have explained, we wouldn't have been so suspicious about you before."

"Well," Kendall scratched his head, trying to find the right word to describe this, "to me, you three looked like gang members they were talking about in the news a few weeks ago, so I just ran for my safety. It was after I got here when I realized that you were the sons of Fenton Hardy, a famous private investigator, and were detectives yourselves."

Frank and Joe looked at each other and grinned. "Wow!" Joe said. "That explains a lot! Wait till Nancy hears about this…"

But then, he stopped his sentence. Frank gasped and looked around.

"But… Where's Nancy?"

"I thought she was running with us!" Joe exclaimed. "Nancy!"

There was no reply. The policemen were looking around for the girl sleuth, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe we should check the backdoor. Maybe she ran away from the door and are calling the police right now," Frank suggested.

"No," Kendall said. "We locked the backdoor from outside. There was no way she could have escaped! The door to the corridor is also locked. And with five of officers here, she couldn't have crept away without our noticing her."

Frank was shocked. "Then, you mean…"

"She disappeared into thin air!" Joe said.

"Or was kidnapped like Bess and George," Frank added. "It seems like there's another hidden entrance here in the Grande Wallace Theatre!"

* * *

"What?" Bess couldn't believe her ears. "No way! Nancy never hurt a fly before in her life. There's no way she would ever kill a person!" 

George was infuriated. "You have to be joking, Bailey. I thought you were our friend! I thought you needed our help, so we came here. But what do you pay Nancy for solving this mystery? By kidnapping us and blaming her for your father's death? I wouldn't say that's the gift Nancy would like to receive from you!"

"Shut up!" Bailey said. Her eyes were flaming with fury. "You don't know anything about me! You thought I was your friend. You _thought_! I was never you friend from the first place, Nancy Drew! I hated you from the bottom of my heart! Well, after you solved that mystery about the Crowley clock and Josiah Crowley's second will, I despised you all along, but I played along so you'd think I was your friend. That's right! I was your enemy even from the first mystery you ever solved! You were my enemy from the time you solved _The Secret of the Old Clock_!"

A short silence filled the air as Bailey shouted the last sentence. Bess and George were surprised, but Nancy was astounded. How did Bailey know about the first mystery Nancy ever solved? Her name was never mentioned in the newspaper article that talked about the case, since she was only sixteen years old at that time. She was a minor, and a minor's name was never mentioned on the newspaper because of the law. How did she know?

Bailey noticed the questioning look in Nancy's eyes and snickered. "You might wonder how I know about your first mystery. Well, because I was supposed to get the fortune if it wasn't for you!"

"Huh?" Nancy was confused. "I found Josiah Crowley's will because so many people depended upon the money they were supposed to receive! But those rotten Tophams robbed them of the fortune they deserved. I just did what was right!"

"What was right? No, you thought it was what you should have done. Well, did you consider about the Tophams' side of story? Did you? Did you consider the pain they had to suffer just because they couldn't get their hands on the money? Well? Did you?"

Nancy bit her lips. "No! They didn't deserve to get the money! They—"

"They did!" Bailey interrupted. "They were supposed to get the money! They weren't as evil as you thought they were! They were actually very kind and altruistic. I am related to them! I am a Topham, too!"

Bess, George, and Nancy all couldn't believe their ears. Bess stuttered, "But… But…"

"Not having the last name Topham doesn't mean I'm not related to them, you know. My mother is Aunt Topham's sister. That's why they weren't sharing the same last name after they got married to different people. That makes me cousin of Ada and Isabel. They were very playful and kind to me. After my father got really sick, we found that only a huge amount of money could get him to have an operation. The Tophams decided to give us three-fourths of the entire Crowley fortune if they were to get the money. They were giving all those money to us so Dad could get well. He could have been there with my mom and me, laughing in front of the fireplace."

Bailey then turned a menacing look at Nancy. "But this fancy-schmancy girl detective robbed us! She instead gave the money to those who didn't need them to survive! They weren't like my dad! That's why he died, Nancy. He died half a year after the Josiah Crowley's fortune got away from him. It was all _your _fault!"

Nancy was confused. "But why did you kidnap Bess and George, too? I understand that you wanted to avenge your father's death and wanted to kidnap me and harm my dad, but Bess and George have nothing to do with this case! They were still in Arizona helping their aunt and uncle's farm for the summer. They weren't even in River Heights back then!"

"They weren't. But I used them to lure you here. I kidnapped them instead because you weren't at the theater or at the hotel when I got there. You kept getting away, so I decided to kidnap them and then lure you here. I would then get you."

Bailey took out a kitchen knife. "Less talk now. This is the final step in avenging my father's death…" She pointed the knife right in front of Nancy's face.

"Now!" Nancy suddenly broke the rope and stood up, ready to defend herself.

"Huh?" Bailey was startled. "How did you cut the rope?"

"You didn't notice, but I had my credit card in my back pocket. I used that to cut this old rope when you were talking. I stalled you long enough."

"Argh!" Bailey threw an old rag at Nancy. She blocked it, but then she realized that she was completely off guard!

Bess and George gasped helplessly as they watched Bailey stab Nancy in the chest. Nancy had a shocked look on her face for a moment, then fell on the dusty floor, clutching her chest in pain.

* * *

_**Postscript: **_**This would be the best part to stop the chapter! The reason I wanted you to read the original version was that Nancy was still sixteen and I used the names from that edition. I would appreciate some comments about this story and am preparing to write the next one. The chapters in the next story will be shorter, since I think you don't want to read a chapter that goes on and on. If you want four-page chapters instead of six-page ones, please mention it in your review. But please have in mind that if I make these chapters four pages long each, then some of them will not have those cliffhangers like this story, but I will be able to update more often with that format. Thanks for reading this chapter!**

** James Stapleton  
**


	16. Epilogue: Mystery Concludes

**_Note from the Author: _Some of you complained that dialogue in chapter 15 didn't seem natural. Well, I had to put it that way in order for the culprit to explain everything she did and why she did them. Anyway, I originally started writing this story in December, but I didn't know it would take this long to write all sixteen chapters in a story! The setting is actually in December as well, so you might see some Christmas spirit in this last chapter, since the mystery ends on December 24. Enjoy the grand finale of HB & ND's newest mystery! Also, there is a surprise visitor appearing at the end, so don't miss it! Because one reader has been begging me to put a certain "someone" in my novel, I decided to put that person after all. Oh, and please review! I'm aiming to have, if possible, fifty reviews or more:-)

* * *

**

_**16**_

_**Epilogue: Mystery Concludes**_

Bess screamed as she saw what Bailey had done. "Oh, no! Bailey! How _could _you! She was your friend! Even though you hated her because of the case she solved, you didn't have to…to…"

George watched in horror as Nancy fell to the ground, holding her chest in pain. "Nancy!"

It was Frank who found the small opening on the floor. "Joe! Kendall!" he called as he took the board that was covering the secret entrance off.

"A secret entrance!" Joe said, amazed. "I'll bet Nancy was dragged down there. Let's go!"

The detectives and the police investigator took out flashlights and went inside. The staircase was narrow, steep, and long. Four of the policemen stood outside guarding the entrance. Frank, Joe, and Kendall then came to a rusty door.

"It looks like it's been here for centuries," Frank said, observing the steel door. "I bet Nancy's kept captive in here."

The three men forced open the rusty door.

"Frank! Joe! Kendall!" Bess and George shouted happily! "Help! Nancy has been stabbed!"

"What!" Frank was astounded. He then saw Bailey, who was in the middle of the room, holding a knife. His eyes then went to Bess and George, who were tied and unable to move.

In an instant, Frank understood what was happening. "Bailey! You…"

Bailey glared at the intruders. She then pointed the knife at the three people. But Frank acted fast. He kicked the knife from her hand and punched her in the stomach.

"Ugh!" Bailey shouted as she fell to her knees, holding her stomach in pain.

Joe grabbed the knife and cut the ropes that tied Bess and George's arms and legs. Bess was worried. "We have to take Nancy to the hospital! I saw Bailey stab her in the chest!"

"It's okay…"

Nancy murmured as she got up. "I'm all right."

George was confused. "How can you be okay? You were stabbed!"

"This protected me." Nancy took out something from inside her sweater. She let the others see it. "It's the necklace I bought this afternoon. The golden oval must have stopped the knife from going any further. I ended up with just a scratch."

Frank and Joe sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're okay, Nancy," Frank said.

"And you came not a moment too soon. Bailey would have killed Bess and George as well if you didn't come along."

The police officers arrested Bailey and took her to the police station. As the detectives went into two other police cars, Nancy explained everything to Frank and Joe. The two high school boys were surprised to find the truth. "You mean, all these were Bailey's doing? Kidnapping Bess and George, attacking Mr. Drew, and attempting to kill you?" asked Joe.

Nancy nodded. "And she was trying to get revenge ever since I found out _The Secret of the Old Clock_, the first mystery I ever solved. It's really sad. I thought I was doing what I could for the Horner sisters, the Turners, the Mathews brothers, and poor old Abigail Rowen. They desperately needed money, but I had no idea the Tophams had a sick relative to whom they were planning to give most of their fortune to in order to save him. I feel so guilty…"

Frank held her tightly as tears fell out of Nancy's eyes. "It's okay, Nancy. You didn't even know that when you solved the case. You were thinking about those who could have been saved thanks to your sleuthing. Besides, you helped more people by giving them the money they deserved, not just for one sick man."

Kendall looked back from the passenger's seat and smiled apologetically to Nancy. "I'm sorry for following you. I wasn't actually following _you _in person, but I was following Bailey. I knew she was kind of strange from the moment I set an eye on her. And the one who followed you in front of the Higgins residence was me, too."

Nancy wiped her tears away. "Then, how did you escape? The walls were too high to climb over, and there wasn't another way out. It seemed like you disappeared into thin air!"

Kendall laughed. "Actually, I had a rope ready at that corner. I just hooked it to a tree and actually walked up the wall and into the yard. I got it just in case if the person whom I was stalking came back after me, so I used that trick to get away."

Smiling, Nancy said, "Very clever, Kendall." To Frank and Joe, she said. "After this, I would like to visit Dad in the hospital. I'm sure he's itching to see me. After all, I did solve three cases at once!"

Carson Drew heard a knock on the door as he was reading the newspaper. "Come in," he said, laying the newspaper down. It was already nine o'clock. Who could it be, coming so late in the evening?

"Hi, Dad!" Nancy said, entering the room. "Guess what? I solved the mystery! I know completely who is the culprit and why they did it."

Mr. Drew was interested. "Well! It seems like my daughter solved yet another mystery!"

But Nancy didn't seem so cheerful. As she explained everything about the kidnapping and the first mystery she ever solved, Mr. Drew seemed just as disturbed.

"And did you find out who was the vandal who vandalized the old theater?"

Nancy nodded. "It was Bailey, too. She found out that Mr. Saraland was your friend somehow and sabotaged his theater so he might call you to investigate. After all, you are a prominent attorney and a prideful investigator."

Mr. Drew laughed. "The latter is about you. You are my pride, Nancy. Nothing comes even close."

"Not even all those cases you won in court?" Nancy asked with a grin.

"Nope, not even all my victories and times I've spent investigating combined."

"I love you, Dad," Nancy said, hugging her father. "And will you be home soon?"

Mr. Drew nodded. "The doctor said my head is all right now. I'll be out of here in less than three hours."

Nancy smiled. "Great. I'll see you at River Heights."

As Nancy got out, she saw a tall figure standing in front of the reception desk. He had the familiar brown hair and the looks. Could it be?

"Ned!" Nancy called. Ned Nickerson looked around. "Over here!"

"Nancy!" Ned exclaimed, surprised. "I heard from Hannah that you were on a case with Bess and George, so I came here to see you. How was it?"

"I solved it," Nancy said with a smile. "But the culprit was the person I trusted the most in the City of New York."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Well, I came here to say hi. I was really worried about you because you didn't even call me."

Nancy smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry, I forgot. There were so many things going on."

"Nancy!"

Two voices called at once. They belonged to Bess and George. The two girls ran toward the couple and grinned broadly. "I got this sweater from Joe!" George said happily.

"And I got this scarf from Kendall," said Bess. "Isn't he so dreamy?"

Nancy smiled. "You know, he was on the top of my suspect list!"

"And here's what Frank told me to give you before they left," George said, handing a small box to Nancy.

"He…He left?" Nancy was surprised.

George nodded. "He seemed to be in a hurry because he had another case to work on back in Bayport."

"Open it! Open it!" Bess urged.

Nancy carefully unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful watch. It didn't seem very expensive, but the message in the box made Nancy's smile even bigger. " 'To our timeless girl detective,'" she read, " 'I'll give you this watch in remembrance of your first and the recent mystery. Keep sleuthing and Merry Christmas! Frank.'"

"Ooh, that's really sweet!" Bess squealed. "Seems like Frank has an eye on you, Nancy!"

"Come on, Bess!" Nancy said. "Frank is my best friend, but Ned is someone I'm looking forward to spend a nice Christmas with." She looked at Ned, who grinned shyly. "Let's go back to my house. I'll bet Hannah and Togo are really worried about me right now."

As the four people exited the hospital, Nancy felt something light and cold fall from the sky. It was snow.

"Snow! It's the first snow of the season!" exclaimed George. "And guess what? It's Christmas Eve, too!"

Nancy never realized this, but now, there were many Christmas decorations all over New York City. She could even hear people singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

"Merry Christmas!" she said to her friends as they went into Ned's car and headed toward the Higgins residence.

* * *

**_Final Note from Author: _Did you enjoy the story? I really hope you did, since it's the first full-length novel I wrote about Frank, Joe, and Nancy. I'm sure some of you enjoyed finally seeing Ned appear in this story. In my next story, the Hardys will be the main characters (since this story has been focused on Nancy and her case), and there will be murder (like the real HB&ND super mystery) in the plot. I want to hear from you about what you liked/disliked, what you suggest you would like to see in the next story, etc. I would like to hear from my readers.**

**Thank you for reading my novel. And thank you for waiting patiently six long months for the story to conclude. I wish you to review my next mystery as well as this chapter.**

**James Stapleton**


End file.
